ADT Security Services, Inc. v. Premier Home Protection, Inc.

181 P.3d 288, 64 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 178, 2007 Colo. App. LEXIS 1393, 2007 WL 2128181
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 26, 2007
Docket05CA1769
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 181 P.3d 288 (ADT Security Services, Inc. v. Premier Home Protection, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ADT Security Services, Inc. v. Premier Home Protection, Inc., 181 P.3d 288, 64 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 178, 2007 Colo. App. LEXIS 1393, 2007 WL 2128181 (Colo. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge BERNARD.

In this breach of contract case, plaintiff, ADT Security Services, Inc., appeals from the judgment and award of damages entered in favor of defendant Premier Home Protection, Inc. on Premier's counterclaim of breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Premier and defendant Ronald Baskin cross-appeal the judgment and award of damages entered in favor of ADT on ADT's claim for unpaid attrition chargebacks and lead fees. We affirm the judgment in ADT's favor on its claim, but reverse the judgment in Premier's favor on its counterclaim.

I. Background

The following facts are undisputed. ADT, a subsidiary of a publicly traded company, Tyeo International, Ltd., is a residential and commercial electronic security services company that markets its monitoring services through independent dealers. Premier was one of ADTs independent dealers. Baskin is Premier's sole owner and president.

On March 18, 1999, Premier entered into an Authorized Dealer Agreement (the agreement) with ADT. Baskin signed the agreement both individually and in his capacity as president of Premier.

The agreement authorized Premier to sell and install electronic security service systems in homes and small businesses, enter into alarm monitoring contracts with customers, and offer the alarm monitoring contracts to ADT for purchase. ADT determined the purchase price for the alarm monitoring contracts in accordance with provisions in the [291]*291Authorized Dealer Guidelines (guidelines), which were incorporated into the agreement.

Under § 9.24 of the agreement, dealers were required to pay a connection fee for each alarm monitoring contract sold to ADT. The connection fee was set forth in the guidelines, and ADT had discretion to change the guidelines. During the entire time Premier was an authorized dealer for ADT, the connection fee was set at $200.

In November 2002, ADT terminated Premier's dealership contract, and in July 2008, ADT sued Premier and Baskin (collectively, Premier) for fraud and breach of contract. ADT first claimed it was entitled to collect unpaid attrition chargebacks and lead fees (for the termination of alarm monitoring accounts because of nonpayment) from Premier because of alleged breach of contract and fraud in obtaining and selling alarm monitoring contracts to ADT. Premier countered ADT was not entitled to attrition charge-backs because ADT did not comply with collection procedures in the guidelines and terminated accounts early.

ADT's second claim was that Premier committed fraud by making false representations about the identity of account holders and credit card information on alarm monitoring contracts offered to ADT for purchase. Premier responded that, for specified account holders, Premier did not know about the false representations; for some account holders, ADT continued to collect payment even after learning of the misrepresentations; and for the remaining account holders, Premier was entitled to an offset for the monitoring fees collected by ADT.

Premier counterclaimed, alleging ADT had breached the contract by violating the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by not setting the connection fee on the basis of actual costs. ADT responded it did not breach the duty of good faith and fair dealing because the connection fees were offset by a bonus paid for alarm monitoring contracts. At oral argument on appeal, Premier indicated it relied solely upon the covenant of good faith and fair dealing as the basis for its breach of contract claim.

After a bench trial, the trial court found that, on ADT's breach of contract claim based on unpaid attrition chargebacks and lead fees, (1) ADT substantially complied with collection procedures; and (2) exeept for one account, ADT did not terminate accounts early. The trial court interpreted the guidelines to allow ADT to terminate alarm monitoring accounts that had been "in the collection process" for 120 days. Accordingly, the trial court entered judgment in favor of ADT and awarded ADT damages of $640,276 and prejudgment interest of $110,662.67. The trial court awarded Premier damages of $1,200 for the one account found to have been terminated early.

On ADT's fraud claims, the trial court found that (1) Premier committed identity theft for specified accounts; and (2) Premier committed fraudulent nondisclosure with respect to credit card information on specified accounts. The trial court awarded ADT damages of $16,171.60 on the identity theft claim, $64,785.32 on the credit card fraud claim, and $13,462 in prejudgment interest.

On Premier's counterclaim for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, the trial court found that ADT breached the duty by charging Premier connection fees in excess of what ADT was entitled to charge. The trial court's finding was based on its conclusion that the term "connection fee" in § 9.2.4 of the agreement referred to a variable fee and not a fixed fee. The trial court entered judgment in favor of Premier and awarded Premier damages of $1,954,883 and prejudgment interest of $701,074.

IIL. ADT's Appeal

ADT asserts the trial court erred in finding it breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing by charging connection fees in excess of actual costs because Premier's justified expectations in the contract were not violated by ADTs conduct. We agree and reverse.

A. History of the Connection Fee

Section 9.24 of the agreement between ADT and Premier provides:

Immediately upon purchase, Authorized Dealer shall pay ADT a connection fee for [292]*292each Purchased Alarm Account in an amount set forth in the Guidelines. The parties acknowledge and agree that such connection fee is reimbursement for administrative expenses and costs associated with the cutin and connection associated with the Purchased Alarm Accounts, not a franchise fee.

As noted, during the period that Premier was a dealer for ADT (March 1999 to November 2002), the connection fee was set at $200 in the guidelines.

Before Premier became a dealer, the connection fee was devised by senior Tyco executives, in 1997, for the purpose of enhancing ADT's income. ADT began collecting the connection fee in late 1997; ADT executives were told that the connection fee was $200 and that the fee would be recorded as a credit to revenue, with the expenses amortized over the life of the contract. In April 1998, Tyco management asked ADT executives to prepare an analysis of costs incurred and services provided to the dealers in order to provide support for the $200 connection fee. In response, an ADT executive prepared a number of connection fee schedules with connection fees ranging from $57.40 to $200.10. A senior Tyco executive also became actively involved in preparing connection fee schedules, and in June 1998, estimated connection fees to be $239.06.

In October 2000, ADT lowered its estimate of connection fees to $108.87, prompting a senior Tyco executive to send out an email warning that a $90 reduction would have a financial impact nearing $45 million. Subsequently, a number of schedules were prepared to justify connection fees of at least $200. One of these schedules estimated connection fees at $286.57.

In January 2001, ADT-without informing its dealers-modified § 9.2.4 in the agreement to delete the language that referred to the connection fee as reimbursement for administrative expenses and costs.

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181 P.3d 288, 64 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 178, 2007 Colo. App. LEXIS 1393, 2007 WL 2128181, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adt-security-services-inc-v-premier-home-protection-inc-coloctapp-2007.