In a recent case in Indiana, a plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the alarm company in essence claiming that his exposure to the sound of the alarm caused permanent damage to his ability to hear.
The court, indicated that under New York’s Economic Loss Doctrine, a party to a contract that suffered economic loss only (not personal injury) was, in most cases, limited to recovery pursuant to a claim for breach of contract and could not recover economic or consequential damages in tort.
An alarm company entered into an agreement to install a security system at a store and also agreed to provide a “central station signal receiving and notification service.”
The defendant alarm company had a clause in its contract giving “either party” the right to have “an action or dispute” resolved by binding arbitration before an arbitrator instead of a judge in court. The plaintiff filed an action in small claims court for damages for breach of contract, breach of warranty and fraud. The defendant alarm company made a motion to dismiss the action and to compel arbitration.
In a case in the state of Colorado, an alarm company was found liable for willful and wanton breach of contract in the failure to perform its obligations for installation, repair, maintenance and offsite monitoring of burglar alarm equipment installed in a warehouse damaged by a fire following a burglary.