KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Holding fire alarm inspection report until paid
February 10, 2025
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Holding fire alarm inspection report until paid
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Ken,
We have a subscriber since 2001, when we originally signed the agreement were told they pay in 90 days, but, if not paid in 120 to let their contact know and he will get after them. Many years have passed, new agreements signed, payments sometimes better, sometimes worse.
Question is, can we withhold inspection reports until past due balances are paid?
Thank you,
Jeff
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Response
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Its questions like this that prompt updates to the Standard Form Agreements. This will be the first update for 2025. The following will be added to the Inspection Service provision in the Fire All in One:
“Inspection report will be withheld from Subscriber and AHJ if Subscriber is not current in payment obligation.”
Is the updated provision necessary, and since you don’t have this in your contract what’s the answer to your question. The update removes any uncertainty regarding your obligation to provide and file the inspection report [not sure filing is required in all jurisdictions or recommended by NFPA]. Your contract defines your duty, obligation to the customer, so making it clear makes sense. Without the provision you will need to rely on common law, which unfortunately doesn’t always equate with common sense.
A party in breach of a contract cannot require the non-breaching party to perform. Therefore you should be able to withhold the report. But there could be serious consequences to withholding the report and it wouldn’t take much for a judge or jury to determine that you should have provided the report to the customer and AHJ because one or both would have done something to correct deficiencies in time to avoid the disaster for occurred after your inspection. After all, you were on notice of a problem, you decided the customer owed money and you were going to withhold the report, and the very issue you found was the reason the fire alarm didn’t function as intended. Gross negligence or willful misconduct? Maybe. But not if it’s clear in the contract, and now it will be.
Even once this is in the Fire All in One [of the stand alone Fire Inspection agreement] you should notify the customer of your decision to withhold the report because payment is overdue. Be sure the payment is in fact overdue. If on a RMR payment Inspection Plan [which is a great idea for building value in your business] payment should be due and payable in advance of the service. For per call inspection you will need to notify the customer that payment is due when scheduling and must be paid before the inspection. If payment is not made and you do the next inspection then you would need to notify the customer. The point is, don’t just withhold the report and not bother to tell the customer why, which would be pretty poor business practice anyway.
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NEW For Sale: Queens, NY. Approx. 100 security alarm accounts, divided evenly between residential and commercial customers, with aggregate of approximately $17,000 monitoring net RMR. Accounts located in 5 boroughs of NYC and Nassau County. Equipment: Hirsch Electronics, Bosch Cctv, Avigilon- Access / Cctv, Speco Cctv, Honeywell – Access Control / Panic / Intrusion, Resideo Panic / Intrusion; panels: Intrusion / Panic: Vista 20, Vista 40, Vista 128, Proa7; operation software: Hirsch Velocity, Microkey Central Station Software, Avigilon- Various, Speco Blue. Service calls “per call”. For more information contact our attorney Ken Kirschenbaum at 516 747 6700 x 301 or Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com. K&K NDA will be required for more info and to contact Seller direct.
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For Sale: Southern California: commercial Net RMR $17,000.00; approximately 80 customers with 324 locations. No fire. Concentrated in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. Third party vendors: Brivo, Eagle Eye, Cradlepoint. Equipment: Genetec, Brivo, Eagle Eye, Ocularius, DMP, Dell, Axis. Monitoring center: NMC. Most under K&K contracts. Panels: DMP. Significant EBITDA. More information requires a K&K NDA. Contact Ken Kirschenbaum at 516 747 6700 x 301 or Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com
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For Sale: Poughkeepsie, NY. Number of accounts 1580; Residential 30% or 471 accounts; Commercial 70% or 1109 accounts, Monitoring NET RMR approximately $50,000; RMR for Inspections $9,798, RMR for Service $17,345; Central Station Safeco and Affiliated Monitoring; Central Station monthly $15,414; Number of techs 7; Accounts are concentrated in Dutchess County NY; Equipment Honeywell Firelite Hikvision Unifi CDVIC; Panels Honeywell Firelite Silent Knight; Software Compass Silent Knight Software Suite HSS Strium Finder Napco Quick Loader. Contact Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq at 516 747 6700 301 or Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com if serious buyer ready to close within 30 days.
For Sale: 15 Deep Sentinel accts; north of San Diego, Ca [one in La and one in Bay area]. RMR approx $5100; monitoring charges approx $1600 RMR. One year guarantee; 31 X; 20% Hold Back. Contact Ken Kirschenbaum for further info. 516 747 6700 x 301 or Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com
For Sale: Shrevesport, Louisiana over 1300 Alarm accounts; residential and commercial, over 45K RMR monitoring accounts; Kirschenbaum Contracts. mid-sized turn-key operation fully staffed with RMR and growth. Contact our attorney Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq for details. Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com or 516 747 6700 x 301
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
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