Cox v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co.

848 N.E.2d 690, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1063, 2006 WL 1529492
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 6, 2006
Docket43A04-0508-CV-478
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 848 N.E.2d 690 (Cox v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cox v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co., 848 N.E.2d 690, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1063, 2006 WL 1529492 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBB, Judge.

Wendell Cox, a cable installer, filed a complaint against Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Inc. (“NIPSCO”) for negligence in the maintenance of the overhead high voltage electric wires and transformer affixed to a utility pole. NIPSCO filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that it had no duty to Cox and therefore was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court granted NIPSCO’s motion for summary judgment and Cox now appeals. We affirm.

Issue

Cox raises two issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as one: whether the trial court properly determined that NIPSCO had no duty to him and granted summary judgment for NIP-SCO.

Facts and Procedural History 1

NIPSCO is a public utility that owns power lines and poles supporting them in Kosciusko County. NIPSCO has an obligation to make its poles available to other non-conflicting users to avoid a redundancy of equipment. To that end, NIPSCO enters into pole use agreements with other utilities.

In this case, NIPSCO entered into a pole use agreement in October 1998, with Triax Midwest, LLP, now Mediacom Cable Company, governing the terms and conditions under which Mediacom is allowed to string coaxial television (“CATV”) lines on NIPSCO’s poles. The agreement, in relevant part, states as follows:

WHEREAS, [Mediacom] is a telecommunications carrier and/or operates a cable television system serving customers located in and around [NIPSCO’s] service territory and desires to construct, attach and maintain pole attachments and to make such pole attachments to the poles of [NIPSCO];
WHEREAS, [NIPSCO] is an electric and gas public utility who owns or controls poles used, in whole or in part, for any wire communications; and
WHEREAS, [NIPSCO] is willing to permit, to the extent it is required by law to do so, the attachment of such pole attachments subject to and upon the terms, provisions and conditions contained in this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, terms and conditions herein contained, the parties do hereby mutually consent and agree as follows:
I. Definitions
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3. The terms “attachment” or “pole attachment,” as used in this Agreement, means any attachment by a cable television system or provider of telecommunications service to a pole owned or controlled by [NIPSCO].
4. The term “pole,” as used in this Agreement, means any pole, duct, con *693 duit, or right-of-way owned or controlled by [NIPSCO].
5. The terms “modify” or “modification” include, but are not limited to, rearranging existing facilities, over-lashing wires, installing a new pole, modifying an existing pole, or strengthening, guying or anchoring.
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7. The term “J-hook,” as used in this Agreement, means an attachment screwed into a drop pole to attach a drop cable so the tension of the drop does not pull on the F connector or the tap.
8. The term “subscriber drop,” as used in this Agreement (also commonly referred to as a “service drop”), means an installation that brings service to a customer’s home.
* * *
II. Scope of Agreement
1. [NIPSCO], to the extent it may lawfully do so, but without warranty, hereby grants a revocable non-exclusive permit and a revocable non-exclusive license to [Mediacom] to make attachments to the poles of [NIPSCO] solely for the purposes of enabling [Mediacom] to operate a cable television system and/or to act as a telecommunications carrier, subject to and upon the terms, provisions and conditions contained in this Agreement.
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3. No use, however extended, of [NIPSCO’s] poles under this Agreement shall create or vest in [Mediacom] any ownership or property rights in [NIP-SCO’s] poles, but [Mediaeom’s] rights therein shall be and remain a mere license. ...
III. Applications and Permits
1. The following provisions govern when [Mediacom] desires to either make an attachment to [NIPSCO’s] poles or add to, rearrange or modify any existing attachment:
a. Except as otherwise provided in Section III, paragraph 1(e) herein, [Mediacom] shall, before making, adding to, rearranging or modifying any attachment on the poles of [NIPSCO], make an application and receive a permit therefor....
⅜ * ⅜
e. If [Mediacom] desires to (i) install a J-hook or subscriber drop; (ii) remove an existing permitted attachment and substitute like-kind plant or facilities on one of [NIPSCO’s] poles; or (iii) perform routine maintenance, and if such action does not increase the load placed upon [NIPSCO’s] pole or does not increase the amount of Useable Space occupied by [Media-corn’s] attachment(s), [Mediacom] shall not be required to pay an application fee for such activity but shall notify [NIPSCO] of its activities within two (2) business days after taking any of the above-referenced actions by providing [NIPSCO] with (i) the pole number and location where the activity occurred; (ii) the nature of the activity; and (iii) the date of the activity by [Mediacom] by sending such information by facsimile transmission, and by sending an additional copy by U.S. Mail.... In addition, within five (5) business days of such activity, [Me-diacom] shall send a completed copy of the Application and Permit form, illustrating which of the above-referenced activities have been undertaken by [Mediacom], by facsimile transmission and by sending an additional copy by U.S. Mail....
*694 IV. Construction and Maintenance of [Mediacom’s] Attachments
1. [Mediacom] shall, at its own risk and expense, make and maintain such attachments in safe condition and in thorough repair, in a manner reasonably acceptable to [NIPSCO].... During the process of making and maintaining its attachments, [Mediacom] shall not act in a manner which unreasonably conflicts with the use of [NIPSCO’s] poles by [NIPSCO] or by others lawfully using such poles or interfere with the working use of facilities thereon....
2.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
848 N.E.2d 690, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1063, 2006 WL 1529492, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cox-v-northern-indiana-public-service-co-indctapp-2006.