Resideo Sues Video Doorbell Provider for Early Termination of Contract

SkyBell Technologies terminated a video doorbell contract with Resideo "without valid cause," alleged a May 23 complaint (docket 1:23-cv-04295) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan. Resideo sold SkyBell video doorbells to distributors and professional installers for use in residences under a 2015 strategic supplier agreement that was “amended from time to time”; the contract expires in December 2024. In April 2020, Resideo announced its plan to begin manufacturing and selling a new video doorbell product of its own, the First Alert VX1 HD video doorbell. The agreement is nonexclusive, “so Plaintiffs have every right under the Agreement to manufacture, sell, and service video doorbells not supplied by SkyBell,” Resideo said. In its April termination notice to Resideo, SkyBell asserted Resideo or its Ademco subsidiary breached the agreement by selling the “unlicensed” First Alert VX1 video doorbell “that infringes SkyBell patents,” said the complaint. It then terminated the agreement for cause “based on an asserted breach of contract” by Resideo, claiming the company took “bad faith, knowing and intentional action” to violate SkyBell’s intellectual property rights. As of the date of the termination notice, the VX1 hadn't gone on sale, “and SkyBell therefore had no opportunity to obtain or analyze the VX1,” Resideo said. Beyond reviewing Resideo’s basic marketing publications, SkyBell had no chance "to obtain, disassemble, reverse engineer, or otherwise analyze the VX1,” it said. “SkyBell has articulated no factual or legal basis” for its assertation that Resideo breached the agreement, and “therefore has no valid cause to terminate the Agreement,” the complaint said. If SkyBell’s termination is allowed to take effect, Resideo will suffer damages of over $75,000, it said. Early termination would also mean Resideo “will be prematurely deprived of SkyBell’s services,” which are necessary for uninterrupted operation of Resideo’s installed base of SkyBell video doorbells. “This will cause harm to Plaintiffs’ relationships with distributors, installers, and end users, as well as harm to Plaintiffs’ reputation for standing behind and supporting the products they sell,” Resideo said. It seeks an order enjoining SkyBell from taking any act or omission based on the “invalid purported termination” of the agreement and forcing SkyBell to continue performing under the agreement until it expires Dec. 31, 2024.