KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Home owner wants contract in corp name / ISC Private and Group Meetings
March 7, 2026
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schedule FREE Private or attend Group meeting at ISC
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Time slots are booking up for the ISC West 2026 meetings. Schedule private meeting with Ken Kirschenbaum, Rory Russell, MItch Reitman or Shawn Iverson Ken, Mitch and Rory will meet at the Prestige Lounge; Shawn will meet at the Insurance Center booth on the ISC floor.
Ken Kirschenbaum is avaiable for private meetings Tues - Friday 10am to 4pm.
To book time for private free consult or register for a Group Meeting contact Kathleen Lampert at 516 747 6700 x 319 or KLampert@Kirschenbaumesq.com. Concierge Client can also contact the Concierge Program Coordinator, Stacy Spector,Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304 or SSpector@Kirschenbaumesq.com.
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Group Meetings: Call Kathleen to register. Yes, it's free!!!!
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Tuesday 2 pm to 3 PM
Is it time to update your contracts and other issues you should be concerned about. Hosted by Ken Kirschenbaum
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Wednesday: 10 am to11 am
Selling or buying a business
Selling your alarm, fire and integration business. Small to large transactions. Selling Fire Protection accounts. By Rory Russell and Ken Kirschenbaum
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Wednesday: 1 pm to 2 pm
What's on your mind. Open meeting to discuss what's important to you. Hosted by Ken Kirschenbaum
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Wednesday: 2 pm to 3 PM
The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) and what it means for alarm company owners and their employees The OBBB was signed into law on July 4th 2025. It is hundreds of pages long and deals with various subjects, but it does contain some provisions which are very beneficial to owners of alarm companies. Mitch Reitman has read the entire Bill and can tell you what you need to know and what you can still do get the maximum benefit on your 2025 tax return. Hosted by Mitch Reitman
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Thursday: 10 am to 11am
Best options for E&O and other insurance needed by your industry. Hosted by Shawn Iverson, CIC, The Insurance Center, 1741 North 2000 West, Ogden, UT 84404, 801-622-2626
www.InsuranceCenterUT.com
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Thursday: 1pm to 2pm
Which accounts bring the highest multiples on sale; how to position yourself to maximize the value of your alarm / integration business. Hosted by Ken Kirschenbaum
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customer cancels during installation
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Ken
We were working on a customers house, had a disagreement and ended up not finishing the job. This was the customer’s decision, not ours. Customer is refusing to pay the remainder of the pre-wire of about $17k.
We also monitor the fire alarm at his other building. He paid for the year and is still in contract. Obviously he’s not going to pay or continue to honor his contract. When can I cancel his account?
Thanks,
Mike
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Response
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You've left out too much information for me to give you advice. For example,
* I don't know nature of the dispute; I may think the customer is more right than you
* I don't know what written communication passed between you and customer regarding
* I don't know if the customer is under contract for the new installation
* I don't know if the customer is under contract for the fire alarm monitoring
Terminating a contractual obligation mid-way can be tricky. You want to end the relationship with finality and not end up in litigation, which will only prolong and be worse than finishing the job under adverse circumstances [by that I mean capitulating to the customer's demands, even if unreasonable]. While a formal release is probably not necessary in most situations, it might be. More likely a parting of the ways confirmed in writing will suffice.
For the job in midst of installation the question will be can the customer get the job completed by another for price customer still owes you. If so then the customer has no damages. On your end, have you been paid for the work you did and if not what are you owed for work completed and, if you are entirely in the right, what profit have you lost by not completing the job; that would be measured by balance to be paid less your cost of completion.
The fire alarm monitoring is different. You've been paid and you would clearly be in breach if you terminated now, especially if the customer hasn't terminated the fire alarm monitoring or done something definitive to let you know that your services are no longer wanted, starting now, not after the paid year has lapsed.
Your relationship with the customer depends entirely on the contract. If you have a Fire All in One for the fire alarm monitoring, then I know your rights. If the new installation is under a K&K contract, the contract, then I know your rights. If you have K&K contracts then K&K will support the contract and pursue the customer, if that's what we think is appropriate. Keep in mind that we may decide to pursue the customer if we think the customer is about to sue you. It's better to be the plaintiff than the defendant in most cases.
It's also a good idea to get legal advice before you get into this situation; cooler heads often prevail and an outside objective point of view can be helpful. Join the Concierge Program and get on the phone in the heat of the argument, not after you pulled the plug, or trigger, as the case may be.
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STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements. click here: www.alarmcontracts.com
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CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304.
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ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ********************
THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily
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Wondering how much your alarm company is worth?
Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth
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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
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