FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2022 filing
Sonitrol litigation history
What Sonitrol disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 3 lists the material legal actions a franchisor must report; Item 4 covers bankruptcy. This is the franchisor's own disclosure, not a court record, and not legal advice.
Items 3 & 4 at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 5
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $800K
- As stated in Item 3
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2022
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
Four concluded civil actions disclosed: (1) Care First Pharmacy v. Stanley Convergent Security Solutions, Inc. (Texas, 2017) - security system failure at pharmacy, settled for $10,000 in December 2017; (2) Oris Development (Cambie) Corp. v. Sonitrol entities (Canada, 2012) - fire loss at condominium development (~$12M CAD claimed), settled for less than $25,000 in March 2016; (3) Collections Fine Jewelry v. Stanley Convergent Security Solutions Inc. (Texas, 2011) - alarm system failure at jewelry store, settled for $800,000 in May 2014; (4) The State of Louisiana/UNO Foundation v. Honeywell International Inc./Sonitrol (Louisiana, 2008) - failure to monitor building and notify of sprinkler activation causing flood damage. All cases involve alleged failures of security/monitoring systems.
Before you weigh a lawsuit
How to read Item 3
A franchisor must disclose pending actions and any material civil action involving the franchise relationship, plus convictions or civil judgments for fraud, unfair or deceptive practices, or franchise-law violations, going back ten years. A case the franchisor brought against a franchisee counts too. Item 3 does not include every dispute: settled claims below the materiality line and matters resolved in private arbitration can be absent.
Questions worth asking current and former franchisees, using the contact list in Item 20:
- Were you, or anyone you know in the system, party to a dispute with the franchisor?
- Was it resolved by settlement, arbitration or a court, and on what terms?
- Has the number of disputes gone up or down since you signed?