STONE COUNTY, Mo. — A Stone County property owner has filed a class action lawsuit against White River Valley Electric Cooperative and its internet subsidiary, White River Connect, alleging the companies illegally used private property to build a fiber optic network.

The suit, filed on Friday in Stone County Circuit Court by KBK Shortleaf LLC, argues that White River exceeded its legal authority by running fiber optic cables along existing power line easements that were originally granted only for electricity transmission.

The petition alleges that property owners were neither consulted nor compensated for the additional use from White River.

“Defendants effectively decided to convert electric transmission corridors into a commercial communications network without consideration for land

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