Subscribers sue Cablevision over missing Fox programs

Cablevision subscribers, upset over not having Fox television programs during the network's fee dispute with the cable television provider, have begun filing class-action lawsuits that seek refunds.

Five Cablevision subscribers were named as complainants in two separate lawsuits, one filed in state court in Nassau County, the other filed in federal court in Manhattan. Both ask that a judge approve class-action status, which allows the courts to deal with a large number of small claims collectively.

Manhattan attorney Michael Rakower filed a lawsuit Friday in State Supreme Court on behalf of two Long Island men. The complainants, William Canfield of East Setauket and Salvator Gandolfo of Massapequa, are representative of 3 million Cablevision subscribers, the suit states.

"Cablevision charged them for a product they did not deliver," Rakower said. "Our clients paid for a product they did not receive. They asked for a refund and were denied."

In a statement, Cablevision said, "These lawsuits appear to be concocted by lawyers with ties to News Corp. Maybe News Corp. should be sued for blacking out Fox programming and the World Series in three million New York-area homes."

Attorney Todd J. Krouner of Chappaqua, who worked on the acquisition of the Fox Television Networks for Rupert Murdoch in the '80s, filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York for Julia Gallo of Yorktown Heights, Andrew Koplik of Mountain Lakes, N.J., and Dorothy Rabsey of Stamford, Conn.

Krouner said he hasn't done any legal work for Fox since the acquisition.

Krouner's complaint, filed Tuesday, seeks a month's subscriber fees in damages, or about $450 million based on an average customer paying $150 a month.

Subscribers haven't been able to see New York Giants football, the Major League Baseball National League Championship Series and entertainment shows "Glee," "House" and "The Simpsons," the lawsuit states.

One class-action expert said that it's becoming "increasingly more difficult" to get such suits approved. Ira Schochet, a Manhattan attorney with the firm of Labaton Sucharow who has worked on class-action cases for 25 years, said judges have been looking more rigorously at the criteria for certifying class actions.