KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Comment on dealer indemnifying central station /  Why the long delay on upgrading 3G / webinar registration
April 29,  2022
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Comment on dealer indemnifying central station from article on April 20, 2022
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Ken – here is a response to Bart’s comments…..
          Dear Bart:
          It would be neat to hear about some of those ‘hundreds of claims’ which have occurred over the years to provide the rest of us with a peak at the legal side from YOUR side of the aisle…  Care to share???
          Wandering minds are a wondering….
 Respectfully,
Joseph (Joe) Pfefer
President & Founder
Jade Alarm Co.
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Response
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           I can tell you that Bart is old school, and just because he's old.  His thinking is from the old days of defending cases, we don't pay the claims unless there are very unique and extenuating circumstances.  Unfortunately that's rarely the thinking anymore, for any of the carriers.  Bean counters run the show and it's cost of defense and potential risk versus settlement resolution.  When a carrier allocates insufficient funds for defense its only alternative is to settle the case.  That strategy only encourages more lawsuits and ups the anti for the settlement number.  Sure we hear about the cases alarm companies defend, but we don't hear about cases that get settled, and there are plenty of those.  Bart probably knows of plenty.  Alarm defense cases... times are a changing.  Bob Dylan said that.  Not for the better.  I said that.
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Why the long delay on upgrading 3G
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          Alarm companies are still asking for letters to customers who haven’t responded to letters advising the need to upgrade their 3G radios.  For many alarm companies panic has set in because they are concerned their subscribers will lose monitoring.  Others are frustrated that their subscribers haven’t responded and the upgrades haven’t been made.  Still others are being creamed by buyers who either want to reject the 3G accounts or severely underprice them. 
          What I’d like to know is, how did this happen.  I asked one alarm company owner how long he knew about the 3G upgrade issue and the response was “couple of years”.  It was only mid-2021 when the alarm company made i’s first effort to upgrade the radios.  Some radios are back up but some are primary and exclusive communication for the alarm system.
          Why the delay; why wait until last minute to panic?  We were in pandemic, I get it.  But the 3G issue started long before the pandemic.  Was there a labor shortage?  A radio shortage? 
          Is this a problem that 100% of alarm companies who use 3G radios are experiencing, or only a handful of holdouts, perhaps deniers that the upgrade would ever arrive. 
          How will this situation be viewed from a liability perspective?  I am not aware of a case yet where the 3G radio failed to report the signal.  When we get that case we will find out how a judge views this issue.  Document your efforts to notify your customers and arrange upgrades if you are responsible for the upgrade.  In any event if you are monitoring you need to let the customer know that monitoring is no longer possible, or soon won’t be, unless the radio is upgraded.
          OK, let me stop whining.  If you have updated Kirschenbaum Contracts™ here’s what you need to do.  Communicate with your subscriber any way you know they get their communication; email or regular letter.  Let them know that the radio is obsolete and must be replaced; that you cannot predict when the radio will no longer communicate, and that alarm monitoring will not be possible once the radio communication ceases.  You need to let them know that they have two basic responsibilities: 1) pay for the upgrade and 2) keep paying for monitoring whether they upgrade or not. 
          If you don’t have a contract with the customer, or don’t know who wrote it or what it says, you probably haven’t read this far, so don’t worry about it or anything else; continue in bliss. 
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Webinar on assistance getting licensed
Webinar Title:  Filing for and renewing your alarm license
Topic Details:  Once you know where you need the license and what license you need, and you know you’re qualified, The Cmoor Group handles the minutia details filing for the license and has the software to monitor for renewal compliance.
When:  May 3, 2022 at 12 PM ET
Presenter:  Connie Moorhead, President of The CMOOR Group. connie@cmoor.com or call 502-254-1590, ext. 101
Hosted by: Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Who should attend:  license holders, license compliance officers, owners, managers
Register Here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8242655366269110283
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com