By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star
A former state Supreme Court judge is hoping to get what he believes is a little justice of his own, for himself and other Arizona cable TV subscribers.
Stanley Feldman is asking the U.S. District Court in Tucson to ban the practice by Cox Communications of forcing those who are buying the company’s premium service to also rent a set-top converter box at an additional $6.99 a month. He charges the practice is not just unfair and expensive, but also violates federal law.
The lawsuit seeks to do more than simply halt the practice. It asks Judge Hector Estrada to order the company to “disgorge the profits it has made from its wrongful and illegal conduct alleged.”
Todd Schneider, Feldman’s attorney, acknowledges premium services offered by Cox and other cable companies require a set-top box to perform two-way communication between the customer and the service. That enables things like the interactive programming guide, on-demand movies and pay-per-view special events.
