Davidson, Mooresville agree to pay $575K to settle cable dispute with Cornelius, Meck County

Nov. 15. By David Vieser. A tentative settlement among the governing bodies of Cornelius, Davidson, Mooresville and Mecklenburg County has been reached regarding the sale of the former Mi-Connection cable system. Under the terms of the settlement, Cornelius and Mecklenburg will share $575,000 to be paid by Davidson and Mooresville.

The municipalities are scheduled to finalize the pact at their respective board meetings this week. Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville on Monday, and Mecklenburg County on Tuesday. If all approve, the funds will be in the hands of Cornelius and the county within 14 days.

How did this all happen?

TDS spent $80 million to acquire Continuum, but only about $11.4 million was available from the proceeds to reimburse Davidson and Mooresville.

Davidson and Mooresville bought the former Adelphia Cable system through a municipal consortium.

Cornelius chose not to participate in the deal, although the company continued to serve customers in the town. The system proceeded to lose more money, and plenty of it. Nearly $50 million in subsidies were paid by taxpayers in Mooresville and Davidson for over a decade.

The MI Connection system—renamed Continuum—went back to the private sector when it was purchased by TDS Telecom on Dec. 31 of 2019.

Details

With the sale, Cornelius asked for $1 million, which they claim was contractually owed to them. Davidson and Mooresville objected and filed a lawsuit in Iredell County Superior Court in February of 2020. After more than a year of negotiations the parties reached an out-of-court settlement. By settling outside of court, the towns and the county will avoid the uncertainty as well as the significant time and expense that would be required if they went to trial.

Duke

“This has been a long slog through the legal “weeds”, but in the end it recognized that we are still neighbors, friends, and colleagues. It ended respectfully and in the best terms possible for all parties given facts and relationships. Hats off to the town’s legal team for their expertise and determination,” said Cornelius Town Commissioner Jim Duke.