dr neighbor cut a cable tv line coming into my home

Is it legal for a neighbor to cut a cable tv line coming into my home their excuse is that we were in her port at the cable company outlets? And if so what are the consequences?

I have found related question on the web...

Q: Does a utility company have the right to run a cable over my property to my neighbor's house?

A: Here's the scoop: A few days ago we noticed there was a new cable running from the utility pole in front of our house diagonally across our property to my neighbor's house. In total there is probably 100 feet of cable crossing our property in direct line of site between our windows and our lake view. Nobody asked permission to do this and we were never notified that it had occurred.

There's a number of reasons why we don't want it there, not only for aesthetics, but for practical reasons, since our lot is sloped so the cable hangs low enough that if it was there last year our tree-cutter-downer-people wouldn't have been able to get their crane into the driveway.

We asked our neighbor and they told us the local cable TV company did it because the pole in front of their house "didn't have the proper hook-up." We don't want to be difficult neighbors but we'd like to have this cable moved so it doesn't cross our property. We don't blame the neighbors and we don't want them to be charged anything. We'd pay for it if we had to, but I think the cable company should do it on their own.

Before I call the cable company I'd like to know what my rights are in this situation. I know that you have no right to the airspace above your property, but where does the airspace begin? I live in Mass., if that matters.

Comments are here:

Who the hell put that cable there? | Ask Metafilter

Originally Posted by Unregistered I have found related question on the web... Q: Does a utility company have the right to run a cable over my property to my neighbor's house? A: Here's the scoop: A few days ago we noticed there was a new cable running from the utility pole in front of our house diagonally across our property to my neighbor's house. In total there is probably 100 feet of cable crossing our property in direct line of site between our windows and our lake view. Nobody asked permission to do this and we were never notified that it had occurred. There's a number of reasons why we don't want it there, not only for aesthetics, but for practical reasons, since our lot is sloped so the cable hangs low enough that if it was there last year our tree-cutter-downer-people wouldn't have been able to get their crane into the driveway. We asked our neighbor and they told us the local cable TV company did it because the pole in front of their house "didn't have the proper hook-up." We don't want to be difficult neighbors but we'd like to have this cable moved so it doesn't cross our property. We don't blame the neighbors and we don't want them to be charged anything. We'd pay for it if we had to, but I think the cable company should do it on their own. Before I call the cable company I'd like to know what my rights are in this situation. I know that you have no right to the airspace above your property, but where does the airspace begin? I live in Mass., if that matters. Comments are here: Who the hell put that cable there? | Ask Metafilter

The owners of utility poles cannot just bar a cable company from using the pole for interconnects; they can charge the cable companies a reasonable rate, but there are very specific (federal) rules that prohibit the utilities from barring a cable company from using a utility pole under most circumstances.

State law controls easements and rights-of-way for cable running from poles, but importantly, the cable company does not inherit the easements or rights-of-way possessed by the utility which owns the pole. So the cable company can't claim the same right to an easement as a power company; it has to be explicitly spelled out in an easement or deed that the cable company has a right to that easement or right-of-way, and if someone digs up some easement that would allow a power line to cross that portion of your property, that doesn't mean that the cable line has the same right.

Originally Posted by Unregistered Is it legal for a neighbor to cut a cable tv line coming into my home their excuse is that we were in her port at the cable company outlets? And if so what are the consequences?

Hi--no it not legal to simply cut it and destroy it.

The neighbor has to act reasonably and has to try to limit the damage.
So she should have asked you first to remove it.

If need be you can sue for damages in small claims.

I agree, they normally need to take the least destructive option, and find out why it was there, was it an accident etc.

Had they warned you?

Originally Posted by Unregistered I have found related question on the web... Q: Does a utility company have the right to run a cable over my property to my neighbor's house? A: Here's the scoop: A few days ago we noticed there was a new cable running from the utility pole in front of our house diagonally across our property to my neighbor's house. In total there is probably 100 feet of cable crossing our property in direct line of site between our windows and our lake view. Nobody asked permission to do this and we were never notified that it had occurred. There's a number of reasons why we don't want it there, not only for aesthetics, but for practical reasons, since our lot is sloped so the cable hangs low enough that if it was there last year our tree-cutter-downer-people wouldn't have been able to get their crane into the driveway. We asked our neighbor and they told us the local cable TV company did it because the pole in front of their house "didn't have the proper hook-up." We don't want to be difficult neighbors but we'd like to have this cable moved so it doesn't cross our property. We don't blame the neighbors and we don't want them to be charged anything. We'd pay for it if we had to, but I think the cable company should do it on their own. Before I call the cable company I'd like to know what my rights are in this situation. I know that you have no right to the airspace above your property, but where does the airspace begin? I live in Mass., if that matters. Comments are here: Who the hell put that cable there? | Ask Metafilter

Same thing happened to me, cable company connected a sub division to a cable line that terminates on my property. The developer didn't have a utility easement with me he just dug up my property and connected to the power and the cable. I asked him about it and he just started yelling at me that he has the right to do that since I don't own the cable. True, I don't own the cable but I own the land it is buried on without an easement. I don't want the liability of this. How do I get help without dragging this through the courts?