Judge Puts Purchase of Cable Company on Hold

A federal judge on Friday sided with Thousand Oaks and Ventura County officials by temporary halting Adelphia Communications Corp.’s purchase of Verizon’s Americast cable system.

U.S. District Court Judge Audrey B. Collins granted a temporary restraining order to force the companies to maintain separate cable operations, at least until an April 12 preliminary hearing.

“Despite Adelphia’s legal maneuvering, we were able to get the matter before the court ... to protect the interests of the city residents,” said Jason R. Alcala, a deputy city attorney for Thousand Oaks.

The companies must temporarily keep their employees, operate the cable systems separately and segregate money received from former Verizon customers, he said.

Adelphia attorneys are reviewing the order and “should have a better understanding of the implications by next week,” said regional Vice President Lee Perron.