Boston Phoenix, Inc. v. New England Telephone & Telegraph Co.

The plaintiffs, The Boston Phoenix, Inc. and Tele-Publishing, Inc., brought this action against the defendant New England Telephone & Telegraph Co., a subsidiary of NYNEX Corp., challenging the defendant’s decision to deny certain telephone services to the plaintiffs based on the “adult” nature of personal ads in The Boston Phoenix’s newspaper of the same name. The plaintiffs claim: (1) Count I, Violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution; (2) Count II, Violation of 42 U.S.C. §1983; (3) Count III, Violation of Article 16 of the Massachusetts Declaration…