Frontier Entitled to ‘Complete Indemnity’ From Verizon for Damage to Ind. Property: Cross-Claim

Each cause of action in plaintiff Debra Brown’s complaint, in which she seeks to nullify the wireless communications easement on her residential property in Goshen, Indiana, and to exclude Frontier and six other defendants from the parcel of real estate that’s “burdened” by the easement (see 2309150006), is barred because Frontier “has a prescriptive easement in the property in dispute,” said Frontier’s answer Monday (docket 3:23-cv-00842) in U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana in South Bend. Brown’s complaint asserts she’s entitled to possession of the real estate, “free and clear of any actual possession or use” by any of the defendants, except for a 25-foot-wide parcel of land that Frontier may have acquired under deeds of easement granted by Brown’s mother, Charlotte Lantz. The facilities include above-ground and underground fiber cables, plus one or more phone lines, said Brown’s complaint. Frontier contends it’s not liable for damages to Brown and shouldn’t be enjoined to remove certain underground fiber cables from the property in dispute, said Frontier’s cross-claim against Verizon, also filed Monday. Frontier installed underground fiber cables on the property in dispute “in reliance of Verizon’s representation that it possessed an easement in the property in dispute,” said the cross-claim. To the extent the court finds Verizon doesn’t own an easement in the property in dispute, Frontier “is entitled to complete indemnity from Verizon for any damages, liabilities, obligations, or costs incurred by Frontier pursuant to Frontier’s reliance on Verizon’s alleged misrepresentations,” said the cross-claim. Verizon didn’t comment Tuesday, and hasn’t answered Brown’s complaint.