The suit alleges that Altice terminated service after pledging not to – and then required exorbitant fees to restart connectivity
Manhattan lawyer Jon Norinsberg of Norinsberg Law has filed a class action complaint in the Eastern District of New York on behalf of its client Artem Shalomayev, owner/operator of 3715 Barber Shop, Inc. in the Bronx, against Defendant Altice USA, Inc.
The suit alleges that Altice exploited the COVID-19 pandemic for profits, causing severe damages to small businesses in New York and the United States.
This comes at a time when a lot of small and medium businesses (SMBs) are reeling under tremendous amount of pressure created by the ongoing global COVID pandemic situation.
We approached Altice USA for their comment on this issue, but have not heard from them till the time of publishing this article.
Altice is one of the largest cable TV and communications providers in the United States. Its broadband, pay television, mobile, internet, proprietary content and advertising services are used by nearly five million subscribers across 21 states through Altice, Optimum, Suddenlink and other brands.
As per the allegation – although Altice pledged not to terminate small business owners’ services during the pandemic, they callously did, and then refused to turn services on until Shalomayev agreed to pay additional money and enter into a new service agreement with a costly set-up fee.
The complaint alleges that in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, civil authorities in New York, and throughout the United States, issued orders requiring residents to stay home, shutting down restaurants, hair salons and other businesses deemed “non-essential,” and prohibiting gatherings of large groups. These orders had a devastating effect on businesses such as Shalomayev’s barbershop, which was forced to completely shut down from March 15, 2020, to July 13, 2020.
Keep America Connected Pledge
The suit declares that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the “Keep Americans Connected Initiative,” on March 13, 2020. To ensure that Americans and small businesses did not lose broadband and telephone service, Pai requested broadband and telephone service providers to join the Keep Americans Connected Pledge (the “Pledge”). More than 800 companies and trade associations, including Altice, signed the Chairman’s Pledge, guaranteeing to:
1. Not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic;
2. Waive any late fees residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and
3. Open its Wi-Fi hotspots to any American who needs them.
The complaint affirms that Altice promoted joining Pledge. Altice USA’s CEO, Dexter Goei, noted, “Altice USA is proud to do its part in ensuring that customers and business in our service areas have reliable access to the connectivity services that are critically important during this rapidly evolving public health situation.”
Shalomayev Relies on Altice’s Pledge
The suit describes that on or about March 15, 2021, Shalomayev read Altice’s Pledge and was relieved that he did not have to make payments to Altice while his business was mandatorily shut down by the Executive Orders of Governor Cuomo.
The complaint states that Altice sent Shalomayev three invoices from March – June 2020 charging non-existent use of Altice’s internet and phone services. Altice knew that Shalomayev, plus thousands of other similarly situated non-essential business owners, were legally barred from operating during this time period and could not possibly have used Altice’s services.
The suit describes that Shalomayev discovered that Altice terminated his services based on non-payment of outstanding April, May and June 2020 bills for when he re-entered his barber shop in late June 2020. Upon learning that his service was terminated, Shalomayev was shocked by Altice’s violation of the Pledge to not terminate service of small businesses who suffered “disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”
The suit states that on July 5, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that several categories of “non-essential” businesses could re-open in New York City, including barbershops, and Shalomayev reopened. In August 2020, Shalomayev received his first new monthly Altice bill and realized for the first time that Altice had doubled his monthly fees for internet and phone services.
The suit seeks $20,000,000 in compensatory and punitive damages as well as litigation costs and expenses.
Jon Norinsberg, attorney for Shalomayev said, “Like so many others, Shalomayev was duped into paying exorbitant fees to Altice in order to resume business operations.
Altice’s greed and misconduct preying on innocent small business owners trying to survive during the pandemic shutdown is outrageous. Altice not only sought to recoup payments for the charges which it had pledged not to collect, but coerced small businesses into entering new service agreements – imposing exorbitant fees in order to restart their services. Altice also deliberately concealed a 100% price increase. We hope that additional small business owners who used Altice will read about this lawsuit and come forward so that we can help them. We estimate tens of thousands of businesses have been affected.”
