Dietz v. Illinois Bell Telephone Co.

PRESIDING JUSTICE QUINLAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Thomas Dietz, filed a class action complaint in the circuit court of Cook County seeking to hold the defendant, Illinois Bell Telephone Company (IBT), liable for trespasses to land allegedly committed by Continental Cablevision of Cook County, Inc. (Continental) and other cable television (CATV) companies. The CATV companies, it was asserted, used IBT’s telephone poles and conduits while placing their cables on or over plaintiff’s land and the land of other class members without permission of the plaintiff and the…