Cablevision Crying Foul Over Verizon Temporary Restraining Order
Cablevision sought a hearing on the scope of a temporary restraining order awarded to Verizon in a dispute over the cable operator's advertising. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Brown of Central Islip, New York, granted Verizon the restraining order Monday, blocking any ads asserting Verizon is telling lies in its ads. The legal battle began in January when Cablevision sued Verizon in federal court over Verizon ads saying it offered "the fastest WiFi available." In a letter to Brown Tuesday, Cablevision said it's constrained by the restraining order even from responding as Verizon put out "false, misleading and defamatory" information about the court ruling itself to the media and public. "This situation is untenable," Cablevision said, though Cablevision put out its own news release about the court decision. "Cablevision continues to make 'anti-FiOS' statements," Verizon said. "What Cablevision is really upset about is that ... Verizon has now publicized the fact that Cablevision's false, misleading and defamatory advertising campaign has been put to a stop."