New Ruling in ADT V. Lisle-Woodridge Upholds Decision to Overturn Anti-Competitive Ordinance
Last year, a federal court ruled in favor of ADT and other alarm companies against the Lisle-Woodridge Fire District, stating the District did not have the right or authority to be in the fire alarm monitoring business, let alone monopolize it through an ordinance. The court issued an injunction against the District at that time and set a deadline for it to refund customers and exit the fire alarm monitoring business.
On July 31, 2013, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is one level below the U.S. Supreme Court, upheld the trial court’s ruling in a 50-page opinion. The court affirmed almost entirely the Modified Permanent Injunction issued by the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that overturned an ordinance in the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District (LWFPD) that “shut down the private market in fire alarm monitoring services by substituting for it a less safe and less reliable system operated by just one chosen vendor,” according to the decision.