American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. IMR Capital Corp.

MEMORANDUM AND DECISION

GERTNER, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is yet another chapter in the multivolume saga of litigation which has arisen out of the break-up of the Bell System and the deregulation of the telephone industry. The subject of this episode is “Consumer Owned Coin Operated Telephones,” better known in the industry as “COCOTs.” A COCOT is a type of coin-operated pay telephone. Unlike most pay telephones, which are owned by the Local Exchange Carrier (“LEC”), 1 COCOTs are owned by third parties, which must gain access to the telephone grid through the LEC. Because LECs also…