In the ongoing saga of the legal case between CPI Security Systems and Vivint for tortious interference (more commonly referred to as customer poaching) CPI has been delivered yet another win.
To catch readers up on the event, CPI Security Systems, SSI’s 2024 Installer of the Year, sued Vivint for unfair competition back in Setpember 2020. On February 2023, the court ruled in favor of CPI, providing a jury award of $189.7 million.
The verdict was delivered unanimously by an eight-person jury in the U.S. District Court Western District of North Carolina Charlotte Division and found that Vivint had engaged in deceptive sales practices to mislead and confuse CPI customers.
Following the ruling, Vivint filed an appeal that ultimately made its way back to the district court, where the case currently stands today, with the original ruling being upheld on appeal.
“We conclude that the evidence CPI presented, considered as a whole, was sufficient to allow the jury to reasonably estimate that CPI’s damages were $49.7 million, as apportioned over its four claims,” Judge Niemeyer concluded in his published opinion alongside Judge Benjamin and Judge Berner regarding the case.
“The only appeal left is to the United States Supreme Court, who is almost certain to deny to hear the case,” said Ken Kirschenbaum, Principal of Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum, P.C., legal counsel to the alarm industry, and regular contributor to CE Pro’s sister publication SSI, who initially broke the news of this case.
“Chalk one up for the good guys,” CPI Security Systems CEO Ken Gill told SSI.
“We did this for CPI’s customers and the public, especially our senior citizens, who continue to be targeted by companies that engage in deceptive business practices. I hope this can be a deterrent to those bad actors.”
In a separate statement provided to SSI, Vivint said: “While we acknowledge the Court’s ruling, it’s important to note that many of the allegations occurred over a decade ago under prior ownership. Today, we are focused on serving more than two million customers across the US, enabling them to live in smarter, safer homes.”
Vivint was acquired by the utility company NRG back in December 2022, though following its acquisition, the company became embroiled in multiple legal battles over its business practices an independent entity.
In January 2023, the security company Alarm.com filed a lawsuit against Vivnt over patent infringement, later reaching a licensing settlement. In March 2023, Alert360 sued Vivint for tortious interference as well as several other grievances.
Prior to its acquisition by NRG, Vivint was also sued by ADT over patent infringement concerns.
CPI’s deceptive sales case against Vivint is the latest to reach a settlement in court. A full outline of the judge’s opinion can be found here, as well as on our sister site, Security Sales & Integration where the court’s decision was first covered.
This article originally appeared on our sister site Security Sales & Integration. More coverage of the professional security industry can be found on their website as well as by subscribing to their newsletters or magazine.
