HomeMy WebLinkAbout082426 Tyler (EPL) Technologies' predatory business modelALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Commissioners,
A couple of weeks ago, DCD said in their presentation regarding implementation of the Repetitive Use Build Program that yet another module for EPL (Tyler) would be required. That’s unfortunate,
and once again shows what an awful predicament the county has placed itself in by choosing that vendor.
If there’s any other reasonable way to support the new Repetitive Use Build program, it should be evaluated first.
Thank you,
Tom Thiersch
==================
AI disclaimer: Gemini says
Tyler Technologies is not classified as a predatory business in the legal sense, but its "GovTech" business model is highly controversial. Critics, legal scholars, and municipal clients
argue that its aggressive market consolidation and deep integration into state and local governments create monopolistic capture, excessive vendor lock-in, and severe lack of accountability.
[1 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBdt3b1fA0g#:~:text=tyler%20Technologies%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most,of%20lawsuits.%20that's%20what%20we'll%20talk%20a> , 2 <https://yalelawjournal.org/essay/ent
erprise-justice-tyler-technologies-and-the-privatizing-court#:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20(Plano%2C%20TX)%20dominates%20U.S.%20state,in%20%3E55%25%20of%20U.S.%20state%20courts%2C%20including>
, 3 <https://mcfn.org/article/how-does-tyler-technologies-keep-getting-government-contracts#:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20(TYL)%20holds%2015%25%20of%20the,of%20NIC%2C%20Tyler%20secured%20a%20$9%2C3
44%2C362.56%20Michigan> , 4 <https://umbrex.com/resources/company-profiles/tyler-technologies/#:~:text=Its%20core%20strategic%20idea%20is%20to%20own,property%20tax%2C%20school%20administration%2C%20r
ecords%2C%20and%20c> , 5 <https://legalpro.jotwell.com/tyler-tech-and-the-perils-of-privatization/#:~:text=*%20This%20concern%20is%20powerful%2C%20as%20far,benefit%20side%20of%20the%20coin.%20After%2
0all%2C> ]
The primary structural criticisms of Tyler Technologies' business model focus on specific operational practices and structural dynamics.
1. Vendor Lock-In and High Switching Costs
* High Switching Costs: Once a city, court, or school district adopts Tyler’s software, removing it is nearly impossible.
* High Customer Retention: The company boasts a 98% annual customer renewal rate. This stability is driven less by client satisfaction and more by the prohibitive cost, risk, and multi-year
disruption required to switch systems.
* Data Siloing: Municipalities frequently report that exporting their own data from Tyler’s proprietary databases into non-Tyler systems is deliberately difficult and expensive. [7 <https://news.ycom
binator.com/item?id=30729080#:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20provides%20municipal%20software%20(court%20records%2C,cities.%20Industry%20barriers:%20government%20procurement/RFP%20processes%2C%20munici
p> ]
2. Aggressive Market Consolidation
* Eliminating Competition: Tyler aggressively buys up smaller, specialized public sector software providers (e.g., its $2.3 billion acquisition of NIC Inc.).
* Stitched-Together Software: Instead of building unified modern platforms, Tyler often cross-sells a patchwork of legacy systems. This leaves governments with limited alternatives during
public bidding (RFP) processes. [4 <https://umbrex.com/resources/company-profiles/tyler-technologies/#:~:text=Its%20core%20strategic%20idea%20is%20to%20own,property%20tax%2C%20school%20administratio
n%2C%20records%2C%20and%20c> , 7 <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30729080#:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20provides%20municipal%20software%20(court%20records%2C,cities.%20Industry%20barriers:%20g
overnment%20procurement/RFP%20processes%2C%20municip> ]
3. Delays, Budget Overruns, and "Junk Fees"
* Escalating Costs: Because local governments cannot easily cancel contracts, Tyler projects often suffer from massive implementation delays and budget overruns. For example, Cook County,
Illinois agencies paid approximately $250 million for deeply delayed and error-plagued system upgrades.
* Deceptive Pricing Lawsuits: Tyler faces a major federal class-action lawsuit (Chowning v. Tyler Technologies). The suit alleges Tyler violated California's Honest Pricing Act by charging
hidden "junk fees" and using "drip pricing" on the ReserveCalifornia state parks booking platform. [1 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBdt3b1fA0g#:~:text=tyler%20Technologies%20is%20one%20of%20the%
20most,of%20lawsuits.%20that's%20what%20we'll%20talk%20a> , 12 <https://www.almeidalawgroup.com/updates/court-rejects-tyler-techs-motion-to-dismiss-confirms-honest-pricing-act-applies-to-junk-fees/#:
~:text=Court%20Rejects%20Tyler%20Tech's%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss%2C,8%2C%202025%20%E2%80%94%20In%20a%20decisive%20vict> , 13 <https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/tyler-technol
ogies-hit-with-class-action-against-junk-fees-on-state-park-reservations/#:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20class%20action%20lawsuit%20overview:&text=Two%20consumers%20are%20suing%20Tyler%20Technologies
%20over,it%20charges%20%E2%80%9Cjunk%20fees%E2%80%9D%20to%20reserve%20camps> ]
4. Severe Externalities of Software Failures
When traditional corporate software crashes, companies lose revenue. When Tyler's software fails, it impacts civil liberties:
* Wrongful Incarcerations: Tyler faced class-action litigation in states like North Carolina and Tennessee. Faulty rollouts of its Odyssey and eCourts management software caused wrongful
arrests and extended detentions because data failed to sync properly.
* Systemic System Backlogs: Tech failures in court and property tax software have halted municipal operations. These disruptions trap citizens in administrative limbo and stall millions
of dollars in tax refunds. [6 <https://www.facebook.com/StockSharks/videos/every-day-millions-of-americans-interact-with-this-company-without-ever-knowing-/853760404449030/#:~:text=there's%20a%20com
pany%20that%20runs%20a%20software,pay%20property%20taxes%20when%20your%20case%20shows> , 11 <https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2026/02/25/tyler-technologies-ceo-accuses-pappas-of-obscene-tirades/#:~:te
xt=Pappas%2C%20who%20has%20held%20the%20office%20since,has%20also%20declared%20her%20intent%20to%20run> , 15 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRaetbJCM8#:~:text=the%20Texas%20based%20tech%20firm%20c
laims%20their,doing%20what%20she%20needs%20to%20to%20make> ]
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBdt3b1fA0g <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBdt3b1fA0g#:~:text=tyler%20Technologies%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most,of%20lawsuits.%20that's%20what%20we'll%20talk%20
a>
[2] https://yalelawjournal.org/essay/enterprise-justice-tyler-technologies-and-the-privatizing-court <https://yalelawjournal.org/essay/enterprise-justice-tyler-technologies-and-the-privatizing-court#
:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20(Plano%2C%20TX)%20dominates%20U.S.%20state,in%20%3E55%25%20of%20U.S.%20state%20courts%2C%20including>
[3] https://mcfn.org/article/how-does-tyler-technologies-keep-getting-government-contracts <https://mcfn.org/article/how-does-tyler-technologies-keep-getting-government-contracts#:~:text=Tyler%20Tech
nologies%20(TYL)%20holds%2015%25%20of%20the,of%20NIC%2C%20Tyler%20secured%20a%20$9%2C344%2C362.56%20Michigan>
[4] https://umbrex.com/resources/company-profiles/tyler-technologies/ <https://umbrex.com/resources/company-profiles/tyler-technologies/#:~:text=Its%20core%20strategic%20idea%20is%20to%20own,property
%20tax%2C%20school%20administration%2C%20records%2C%20and%20c>
[5] https://legalpro.jotwell.com/tyler-tech-and-the-perils-of-privatization/ <https://legalpro.jotwell.com/tyler-tech-and-the-perils-of-privatization/#:~:text=*%20This%20concern%20is%20powerful%2C%20
as%20far,benefit%20side%20of%20the%20coin.%20After%20all%2C>
[6] https://www.facebook.com/StockSharks/videos/every-day-millions-of-americans-interact-with-this-company-without-ever-knowing-/853760404449030/ <https://www.facebook.com/StockSharks/videos/every-da
y-millions-of-americans-interact-with-this-company-without-ever-knowing-/853760404449030/#:~:text=there's%20a%20company%20that%20runs%20a%20software,pay%20property%20taxes%20when%20your%20case%20show
s>
[7] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30729080 <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30729080#:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20provides%20municipal%20software%20(court%20records%2C,cities.%20Industr
y%20barriers:%20government%20procurement/RFP%20processes%2C%20municip>
[8] https://www.courthousenews.com/tyler-technologies-pays-3-million-to-settle-claims-it-stiffed-employees/ <https://www.courthousenews.com/tyler-technologies-pays-3-million-to-settle-claims-it-stiff
ed-employees/#:~:text=Its%20website%20boasts%20%E2%80%9Cmore%20than%2021%2C000%20successful,Canada%2C%20the%20Caribbean%2C%20Australia%20and%20other%20int>
[9] https://www.injusticewatch.org/judges/court-administration/2025/costs-triple-delays-mount-in-tyler-technologies-contracts/ <https://www.injusticewatch.org/judges/court-administration/2025/costs-t
riple-delays-mount-in-tyler-technologies-contracts/#:~:text=In%202019%20%E2%80%94%20as%20the%20company%20missed,%E2%80%94%20the%20county%20clerk%2C%20assessor%20and%20treasu>
[10] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kjPArLM4xKM
[11] https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2026/02/25/tyler-technologies-ceo-accuses-pappas-of-obscene-tirades/ <https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2026/02/25/tyler-technologies-ceo-accuses-pappas-of-obscene-
tirades/#:~:text=Pappas%2C%20who%20has%20held%20the%20office%20since,has%20also%20declared%20her%20intent%20to%20run>
[12] https://www.almeidalawgroup.com/updates/court-rejects-tyler-techs-motion-to-dismiss-confirms-honest-pricing-act-applies-to-junk-fees/ <https://www.almeidalawgroup.com/updates/court-rejects-tyler
-techs-motion-to-dismiss-confirms-honest-pricing-act-applies-to-junk-fees/#:~:text=Court%20Rejects%20Tyler%20Tech's%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss%2C,8%2C%202025%20%E2%80%94%20In%20a%20decisive%20vict>
[13] https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/tyler-technologies-hit-with-class-action-against-junk-fees-on-state-park-reservations/ <https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlemen
ts/lawsuit-news/tyler-technologies-hit-with-class-action-against-junk-fees-on-state-park-reservations/#:~:text=Tyler%20Technologies%20class%20action%20lawsuit%20overview:&text=Two%20consumers%20are%2
0suing%20Tyler%20Technologies%20over,it%20charges%20%E2%80%9Cjunk%20fees%E2%80%9D%20to%20reserve%20camps>
[14] https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/justice/ecourts-north-carolina-lawsuit-settlement/ <https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/justice/ecourts-north-carolina-lawsuit-settlement/#:~:
text=Litigation%20over%20the%20state's%20$100%20million%20digital,Two%20people%20who%20said%20they%20were%20wrongfull>
[15] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRaetbJCM8 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRaetbJCM8#:~:text=the%20Texas%20based%20tech%20firm%20claims%20their,doing%20what%20she%20needs%20to%20to%20make>
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