Item 8.01. Other Events.
Mediacom LLC, one of our wholly owned subsidiaries, is named as a defendant in a
putative class action, captioned Gary Ogg and Janice Ogg v. Mediacom LLC,
pending in the Circuit Court of Clay County, Missouri, originally filed in
April 2001. The lawsuit alleges that Mediacom LLC, in areas where there was no
cable franchise failed to obtain permission from landowners to place our fiber
interconnection cable notwithstanding the possession of agreements or permission
from other third parties. While the parties continue to contest liability, there
also remains a dispute as to the proper measure of damages. Based on a report by
their experts, the plaintiffs claim compensatory damages of approximately
$14.5 million. Legal fees, prejudgment interest, potential punitive damages and
other costs could increase that estimate to approximately $26.0 million. The
plaintiffs recently proposed an alternative damage theory of $42.0 million in
compensatory damages. Notwithstanding the verdict in the trial described below,
we remain unable to reasonably determine the amount of our final liability in
this lawsuit. Prior to trial our experts estimated our liability to be within
the range of approximately $0.1 million to $2.3 million. This estimate does not
include any estimate of damages for prejudgment interest, attorneys' fees or
punitive damages.
On March 9, 2009, a jury trial commenced solely for the claim of Gary and Janice
Ogg, the designated class representatives. On March 19, 2009, the jury rendered
a verdict in favor of Gary and Janice Ogg setting compensatory damages of $8,863
and punitive damages of $35,000. This verdict is not yet final. Although we
believe that the particular circumstances of each class member may result in a
different measure of damages for each member, if the same measure of
compensatory damages was used for each member, the aggregate compensatory
damages would be approximately $16.2 million. Mediacom LLC intends to file
motions with respect to the verdict and vigorously defend against the claims
made by the other members of the class, including at trial, and on appeal, if
necessary.
We believe that the amount of actual liability would not have a significant
effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, cash flows
or business. There can be no assurance, however, that the actual liability
ultimately determined for all members of the class would not exceed our
estimated range or any amount derived from the verdict rendered on March 19,
2009. Mediacom LLC has tendered the lawsuit to our insurance carrier for defense
and indemnification. The carrier has agreed to defend Mediacom LLC under a
reservation of rights, and a declaratory judgment action is pending regarding
the carrier's defense and coverage responsibilities.
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