$20 million lawsuit claims Altice reneged on its Keep Americans Connected pledge

The owner of a New York City barbershop has filed a $20 million class-action lawsuit against Altice, claiming that Altice reneged on its Keep Americans Connected pledge during the pandemic. Artem Shalomayev, owner of 3715 Barber Shop in the Bronx, is suing on behalf of potentially thousands of other similarly-situated small business owners, according to the plaintiff's lawyer Jon Norinsberg. On March 13, 2020, then-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the Keep Americans Connected initiative, asking broadband providers to pledge not to terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills and to waive any late fees. More than 800 companies, including Altice, signed the chairman’s pledge. Shalomayev said he was sent three Altice invoices from March to June 2020, charging for internet and phone services even though his business was mandatorily closed. His suit says that Altice then terminated his services based on non-payment in late June 2020, which he views as going against the pledge. According to his complaint, Shalomayev asked an Altice customer service representative if he could pay the bills in order to get his service restored, and the representative said that his service was permanently disconnected, that he would have to set up a new account and pay a $180.00 reconnection fee. Norinsberg stated that the lawsuit is focused on the issue of being forced to enter a new contract with a new reconnection fee when services shouldn’t have been terminated in the first place. Although Shalomayev is the only plaintiff at this time, Norinsberg said his law firm is estimating a 50,000-member class with similar damages.