April 29, 2022

Minnesota AG Ellison Sues Solar Panel Company for Deceptive Sales Tactics

Lori Kalani, Bernard Nash

Cozen O'Connor

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Cozen O'Connor

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit against four Utah-based solar panel sales companies, Brio Energy LLC, Bello Solar Energy, Avolta Power, Inc., and Sunny Solar Utah LLC, along with their executives and several lenders who partnered with the companies (“Defendants”), alleging deceptive and fraudulent sales practices in violation of Minnesota consumer fraud statutes. The complaint also alleges numerous poorly installed systems, missed deadlines, and failed interconnection requirements.
According to the complaint, Defendants allegedly used high-pressure sales tactics, often under the pretense of providing “education” or information and an array of misrepresentations to sell solar systems. These tactics included misrepresentations of savings and government rebates, falsely claiming to be affiliated with utilities, tricking consumers into signing binding sales contracts and loan agreements, and threatening consumers wishing to cancel with termination fees, lawsuits, collection efforts, and liens.
The complaint seeks a declaration that Defendants are in violation of numerous Minnesota statutes, including the Personal Solicitation of Sales Act, the Home Solicitation Sales Act, the False Statements in Advertising Act, and the Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act. It also requests notification of the right to cancel contracts be provided to all prospective and current customers, financial restitution for affected customers, civil penalties and costs of investigation, and attorneys’ fees.

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.