PLANO – Anyone born prior to the turn of the century probably remembers the term “hidden cable fee,” a phrase that may soon morph into “hidden streaming fee” as more and more cities across the nation are suing streaming video providers over franchise fees.
Documents obtained by The Record show that on July 12 the city of Plano sent a contingent fee to the Office of the Attorney General for approval.
The agreement is between the city and the law firms of Ashcroft Sutton Reyes, McKool Smith and Korein Tillery.
If approved, the law firms will provide legal services to the city for the recovery of franchise fees from Netflix, Hulu, Disney and other video service providers.
Records show the city maintains its attorneys cannot “adequately” handle the litigation.
“The City’s Attorney’s office is engaged in overseeing, managing and litigating hundreds of matters,” the document states. “Thus, the City does not have the resources it believes will be necessary to engage in protracted, time-consuming, and expensive litigation.”
Other municipalities across the nation have already filed lawsuits against the popular streaming companies, seeking a cut of their gross revenue.
Dallas City Council green lighted a franchise fee suit in February for the VSPs alleged failure to pay 5 percent of their gross revenues under the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act.
Plano City Council authorized the city to contract with the firms back in June, records show.
The firms and the city also signed the contract in June.