Pike v. Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co.

MAYFIELD, Justice.

A statement of this case appears in the dissenting opinion. The primary question here for consideration is whether or not the appellee Telephone Company was justified in removing the appellant’s telephone. The appellee’s asserted justification of this act was that it had received notification from Eugene “Bull” Connor, Commissioner of Public Safety of the City of Birmingham, that this telephone was being used for “illegal purposes”.

It is clear that the Telephone Company, like any other public utility, which .lis granted a monopoly, has a duty to serve !the general public…