AT&T Replacing 17,000 U-Verse Batteries > Ouch

Ouch

Except for the fact that AT&T has been so hell bent on butting them right up to people's homes, fences, yards, etc. So even 1 failure is not acceptable as it damages non-AT&T property.

If they want to blow things up in their own COs and ruin their own property, so be it.

But when they have equipment causing damage to private property, they are open to potentially substantial liabilities. And if someone can prove they knowingly did not take action to prevent such from happening, that's a lawsuit mega-judgment just waiting to happen.

}Davoice

They should pass the liability off to the battery manufacturer.

reply to wruckman
i guess this is the cost of Explosive growth of a service....
--
[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports

reply to wruckman
They can't because the company no longer exists.

reply to wruckman
The battery manufacturer went bankrupt in 2006! U-Verse is all about AT&T being cheap rather than biting the bullet and admitting they need more fiber.

reply to wruckman
They are bankrupt and closed - have you even read the article, or are you headline surfing?

reply to koolkid1563
HAHA! Isn't that convenient. So, your saying that people can start a business and sell substandard and dangerous parts then close shop and not be liable?

reply to wruckman
Remember... the manufacturer went bankrupt. Avestor is g o n e. That left AT&T holding the bag alone.

}Davoice

reply to wruckman
Yep. That's exactly what we're saying.

Once the company files bankruptcy and liquidates, there is nothing left to file a claim against.

You can try to sue the company's principles/founders/former employees but most courts won't let you get far with that unless you can prove that specific person was personally responsible for the negligence.

}Davoice

reply to davoice

reply to davoice
The law is a joke.

reply to Define_Easement
Problem is that damage may not be confined to the easement. If you find the rest of the photos from the documents events to date, you'll see it also caused some damage to surrounding home garages, siding, plant beds and fences. Those items are not within the easement.

You can see the melted home siding here:
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···10&site=

And what you also see in that photo is the new fence AT&T erected for the homeowner to replace the section that was blown out when the cabinet exploded. Had that been a car parked on the side of the house, they would have been replacing a front grill, hood and windshield instead of a fence. And if someone had been in the yard behind that fence when it happened they likely would be facing a wrongful death lawsuit.

To turn this into a major lawsuit and a PR nightmare, all that needed to happen was for that vinyl siding to catch fire and kill someone's sleeping child.

AT&T's lawyers aren't stupid. They see what's coming if these batteries aren't replaced and something else happens.

}Davoice

reply to davoice

reply to wruckman

No wonder why American made is always crap.

Wasn't Avestor a Canadian company though?

»tyler.blogware.com/blog/_archive···013.html
"Another Canadian energy-storage player bites the dust. Avestor, a Boucherville, Quebec-based maker of lithium-metal-polymer batteries, has let go of 260 employees and closed the doors of its manufacturing plant just outside of Montreal."

reply to wruckman
Actually, American made always isn't crap. In fact we engineer or introduce some of the very best made products, anywhere... in fact companies here in the USA are leading the world in advanced new battery design and future concepts.... problem is, while many foreign companies understand quality and reliability are important, and so start manufacturing them properly, here in the USA often COST is the most important factor, and ways to cut corners or make it cheaper are often sought after over quality and reliability... making them... well, as you put it, crap.
--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!)

reply to koolkid1563
When they landed the at&t deal they probably thought they had it made, and the future was secured... but like many small companies find out when dealing with a monster company, is it's a lot like dancing with the devil. They can put you under and out in no time. Just ask many small manufacturers who made deals with Wal-Mart....
--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!)