On March 5, an appeal was filed on behalf of the Georgia Electronic Life Safety & System Association (GELSSA) in response to a District Court decision to not hear the case filed by ESA members in Georgia over an ordinance that fines alarm companies for allegedly false dispatches. At issue is whether alarm companies have procedural and substantive due process rights regarding a city ordinance that fines these companies for alleged "false" alarms.
The Sandy Springs, Ga. ordinance has issued thousands in fines against alarm companies without regard for the cause of the alarm, whether it be end-user error, an aborted attempt to illegally enter a dwelling or business or some other cause for which the alarm company has no control, according to ESA.