A cellphone tower company claims two private citizens have been putting up literal roadblocks and preventing their crews from doing maintenance on a tower.
Pinnacle Towers LLC filed a suit Oct. 1 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, claiming that ABC Academy LLC and Joseph and Stella West have been locking gates on roads that lead to Pinnacle’s property. ABC Academy’s sole officer, according to the complaint, is Joseph West. Stella west is an employee of ABC Academy.
Though the suit acknowledges the Wests own land around Pinnacle Tower’s plot, it claims a passage known as the Sylvest Servitude extends from U.S. Highway 51 to the rear of Pinnacle’s land. Sylvest Servitude is reserved as a non-exclusive servitude, according to the suit.
According to the claim, the Wests notified Pinnacle in December 2014 that they would not grant access to the Sylvest Servitude unless fees were paid to ABC for its use. Pinnacle claims it needs access to the property for telecommunication repairs and maintenance. Without maintenance, they claim they are hurting their customers and their bottom line.
Pinnacle seeks a declaratory judgment that it is entitled to access the Sylvest Servitude, a permanent injunction enjoining Joseph and Stella West and ABC from preventing Pinnacle’s access and damages that will be proven at trial from lack of access to the land. Attorneys Daniel Lund III and Jason Camelford of Coats, Rose, Yale, Ryman & Lee, PC in New Orleans is representing the plaintiff.
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:15-cv-04905-NJB-JCW.