Legal Brief: A Lesson on Punitive Damages
March 19, 2025
Security Business Magazine
Types : Bylined Articles
An update on Vivint’s appeal of a massive judgment on a deceptive sales lawsuit
A successful lawsuit can result in various forms of relief – including an injunction (usually stopping someone from doing something), a declaration (adjudging the parties’ respective rights and obligations), disgorgement (forfeiting money obtained illegally), compensatory damages (making an injured party whole), consequential damages (for the losses that flowed from the harm), and punitive damages (punishing the wrongdoer and deterring others who may engage in the same conduct).
In my March 2024 column, I wrote about a lawsuit brought by CPI Security Systems, one of the largest privately held security providers in the Southeast, against security giant Vivint that alleged Vivint used deceptive sales practices.
The case was brought in 2020. In 2023, a jury rendered a verdict in favor of CPI and against Vivint for more than $189 million. Punitive damages made up $140 million of the verdict, while $29.3 million was for violations of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act; $13.5 million for unfair competition; $5.4 million for trademark violations; and $1.5 million for interfering with the contracts of seven identified CPI customers.
As I wrote in my original column, the size of the punitive damage award reflected the jury’s intention to punish what it perceived to be intentional misconduct.