3.3.23 – CEPro
Filing joins growing number of legal cases against Vivint following its acquisition by NRG Energy in December 2022.
Alert 360 Opco, Inc. (the Company) has officially filed a complaint against Vivint for unfair competition in violation of The Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125, Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition. This news follows on the heels of two separate lawsuits earlier this year from CPI Security and Alarm.com alleging deceptive practices and patent-infringement, respectively.
The complaint was filed in the Northern District of Oklahoma. As part of the case, the Company states it has numerous instances of Vivint targeting Alert 360 customers by saying Vivint has become Alert 360, has purchased Alert 360, was sent on behalf of Alert 360, or that Alert 360 has gone out of business, as a few examples.
“We have amicably tried to resolve these issues with Vivint for many years to no avail. We have no choice other than to put these issues in the hands of a jury and the judicial system and look forward to presenting our case,” says Richard Ginsburg, Alert 360’s CEO.
Cheri Fletcher, who is serving as general counsel for the Company, states: “Deceptive sales practice complaints significantly increase during the milder weather and upcoming summer-move season. Deceptive sales practices give our entire industry a bad name, and we have been pleased that many state attorney generals have also taken action against companies for these tactics.”
The Company, which is being represented in the case by Charles C. Eblen of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP, has a dedicated web page with information and a link to report deceptive sales practices for consumers concerned about sales scams in the security industry or who worry they have been victimized.
NRG Energy agreed to acquire Vivint Smart Home in December 2022. Vivint was founded by SSI Hall of Famer Todd Pedersen in 1999 as APX Alarm; he renamed the company Vivint in 2011 and a year later sold it to investors Blackstone Group.
Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister site, Security Sales & Integration, 03.02.23. It has since been updated for CE Pro audiences.