COMPANY TOWN

Cable: US West Corp. on Monday stepped up the pressure in its legal battle against partner Time Warner, asking a Delaware court to block the company’s recent management reorganization. The regional phone company, based in Englewood, Colo., said Time Warner’s plan to put its free-standing music division under the same leadership as the Warner Bros. studio would distract those managers and would in effect dismantle an entertainment partnership in which it is a 25.5% owner. The partnership includes Time Warner’s Home Box Office, its movie studios and the bulk of its cable properties, but not music. The request came as an amendment to US West’s lawsuit to block Time Warner’s purchase of Turner Broadcasting System. In Monday’s filing, US West said it discovered that Time Warner and its two original investors in the partnership had agreed to restructure the partnership in the event Turner was ever purchased. Time Warner disputes that contention.