3. Complainant's Evidence at Hearing

At hearing, Spencer testified that he founded Marking Products in 1981 in Oklahoma City. The company sells store supplies, including marking guns for product labels, throughout the United States and Canada. Spencer testified that in 1996 he entered into a verbal agreement with James Capitano, sole proprietor of CRS Los Angeles (CRS), which like Marking Products was a supplier of store and office products. Under the agreement, Marking Products took over the business of CRS, including its inventory and the use of the CRS 800 number, and Capitano became a sales representative for Marking Products at that company's office in Orange, California. In return, Marking Products paid outstanding bills of CRS that totaled $91,600. The outstanding bills included amounts owed to AT&T for the CRS 800 number.

Spencer testified that Marking Products began soliciting former customers of CRS and began advertising the CRS 800 number as one of the two 800 numbers through which customers could place orders to Marking Products in California. Meanwhile, AT&T was directed by telephone to consolidate its bills for the CRS 800 number with other Marking Products 800 numbers and send the bills to the Marking Products office in Oklahoma City.

Spencer testified that in 1999 he learned that Capitano was having customers send payments to him at his home address. Capitano was discharged on July 27, 1999, and Marking Products filed suit against him in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking damages for fraud and deceitful practices. Meanwhile, Spencer stated, Capitano called AT&T and had them transfer the CRS 800 number to ring in his home instead of in the Marking Products office in Orange. Spencer estimated that Capitano since August 1999 has been taking orders intended for Marking Products, and that the value of these orders was $80,000 to $90,000 per month.

Spencer testified that AT&T refused all entreaties to transfer the CRS 800 number back to a Marking Products location on grounds that AT&T's records showed Capitano as the customer of record responsible for the account, and the account had never been transferred to Marking Products.