A senior homeowner has accused several solar companies of fraud and deceptive practices, bringing a lawsuit that highlights widespread issues in the residential solar panel industry. Claver Campbell filed the complaint on September 5, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Solar Mosaic, LLC; SUNco Capital, LLC; ATTYX Utah LLC; ATTYX LLC; and WebBank.
According to the complaint, Campbell was misled into believing she would receive a new roof and solar panel system for $184 per month. The defendants allegedly forged her signature on loan documents without performing any financial evaluation to determine if she could afford the payments.
"Mrs. Campbell was misled to believe she would receive a new roof and new solar panel system for just $184.00 per month," states the complaint. Instead, she later discovered that her monthly payments were set at $535.87 over twenty-five years, totaling $160,757.27.
The lawsuit further claims that after installing their solar panel system, the defendants failed to buy out her lease with her previous solar company, SunRun, leaving removed panels cluttering her backyard. Despite Campbell's attempts to cancel the agreement within the stipulated three-day period, Solar Mosaic refused to honor her cancellation request and placed a lien on her home.
Campbell's case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of deceptive practices targeting seniors and communities of color by solar companies across the nation.
"This case illustrates emerging nationwide abusive and deceptive business practices in the residential solar panel industry," reads the complaint. State Attorneys General from Minnesota, Tennessee, and Kentucky have also sued Solar Mosaic for similar fraudulent activities.
The plaintiff seeks equitable relief in the form of rescission of the transaction between parties, termination of any security interests relating to it, removal of any liens or UCC-1 financing statements claimed by defendants against her property, actual and compensatory damages exceeding $160,000, statutory damages under various consumer protection laws including TILA (Truth in Lending Act), GBL (General Business Law), NY UCC (New York Uniform Commercial Code), treble damages under GBL § 349(h), punitive damages under ECOA (Equal Credit Opportunity Act), attorney's fees and costs.
Representing Claver Campbell are attorneys Jennifer N. Levy Esq., Claire P. Mooney Esq., Oda C. Friedheim Esq., and Elizabeth M. Lynch Esq., all from The Legal Aid Society based in Jamaica, New York.