The Los Angeles city attorney’s office said it planned to sue Time Warner Cable Inc., alleging that the company caused “major havoc and distress” when it became the No. 1 pay TV provider in Southern California two years ago, the Los Angeles Times reports.

City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said that Time Warner violated state law by making false and misleading statements to subscribers. The 25-page lawsuit, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, claims the company violated its franchise agreement with the city by having subscribers spend hours on hold with customer service representatives and allowing excessive repair work delays.

“Hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles residents were ripped off,” Delgadillo said in a statement. “Time Warner must be held accountable for its promises.”

City prosecutors said the suit would be filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Time Warner Cable representatives had no immediate comment.

The New York-based company could face civil penalties of tens of millions of dollars.

Delgadillo’s office has taken corporate interests to court several times, suing local hospitals on allegations that they dumped indigent patients in downtown Los Angeles and accusing Anthem Blue Cross of scheming to cancel health insurance for people diagnosed with serious and expensive medical conditions.

Time Warner became the major cable TV provider in the area when it joined with Comcast Corp. in 2006 to buy out bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. Time Warner and Comcast then swapped franchises so each would dominate markets in different U.S. regions.

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