A recent case in New York again tested the importance of the limitation of liability provision in an alarm contract. In this case, an uninsured jeweler attempted to obtain recovery for over a $5,000,000 loss in jewels stolen by burglars from his retail store on two successive Super Bowl weekends. The plaintiff purchased a security system from the defendant security alarm company. The alarm system contained a two-way radio system manufactured by the defendant manufacturer of the system.
In 2010, burglars broke into the jewelry store by cutting through the wall from an adjacent retail store. The thieves removed a safe where it had been positioned alongside the wall. Because the burglars entered the store in this fashion, they did not set off the door alarm. After the break-in, plaintiff moved the two remaining safes to a middle area of the store so that they were not adjacent to any walls.