Idaho AG files suit to recover payments on void broadband contract

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Attorney General Lawrence Wasden says two internet companies must return the millions of dollars paid to them under a voided state broadband contract.

Wasden filed the complaint last week in state court, just days after Education Networks of America Inc. and CenturyLink Communications LLC filed separate lawsuits demanding that the state pay them $37 million in back payments and damages.

Wasden’s decision to recover taxpayer money is the latest development in the ongoing saga over the now-defunct Idaho Education Network — which provided broadband to public schools, but has been offline since 2015.

Taxpayers have already paid out more than $29 million for the project. Earlier this year, lawmakers had previously hoped to settle the claims for $8 million. Yet those efforts were scuttled when the Idaho Supreme Court agreed with a district judge that the contract with the companies was void because of an unlawful amendment made by the state.

Read more: http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/idaho-ag-files-suit-to-recover-payments-on-void-broadband/article_487f3f9b-0c40-54a1-a392-8367b4d3dc7d.html