County's False Alarm Law alleged to violate the due process rights of alarm owners
Federal District court dismissed Plaintiff's law suit against the County defendant upon concluding that the County’s False Alarm Law [1] did not violate the due process rights of County alarm owners; [2] did not effectuate an unlawful taking under the Fifth Amendment; and [3] did not violate New York state law. The United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, affirming the district court's ruling, explained:
1. "The false alarm fines for non-residential alarm owners range from $100 to $500 and are not so high as to have a severe economic impact on a business establishment;
2. "The False Alarm Law does not require alarm owners to disable the alarm or to remove the alarm after a false alarm;
3. "Law enforcement does not stop responding to alarms from a particular establishment if it has responded to a false alarm at that establishment in the past;
4. "The investment-backed expectation—that the alarm system protects its establishment in the event of an emergency—has not been frustrated; and
5. "Because the False Alarm Law aims to preserve law enforcement resources for true emergencies rather than false alarms, the cost associated with false alarm fines would be an expected cost of maintaining an alarm system that calls for law enforcement to respond rather than a departure from the expectations a business would have when investing in such an alarm system."
The text of the Circuit Court's decision is posted on the Internet HERE
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