Solar power developer settles case with Riverside County over discrepant practices
City News Service
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A former solar power developer sued by Riverside County and other jurisdictions over deficient business practices settled the legal action in a pretrial agreement requiring the remnants of the enterprise to pay $4.3 million in restitution and penalties, it was announced today.
Vivint Solar Inc., previously headquartered in Lehi, Utah, reached the settlement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office as part of a stipulated judgment formally entered at the Riverside Historic Courthouse Wednesday.
Along with Riverside County, prosecuting agencies in Alameda, Fresno, San Diego and San Francisco were also plaintiffs in the civil action and will receive portions of the payout. The case originated in Riverside County, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Vivint Solar was absorbed by Sunrun Solar, which existed prior to the lawsuit and was not in any way involved in Vivint Solar’s disputes, according to prosecutors. A Utah company now bearing the Vivint brand specializes in home security. Its representatives emphasized in an email to City News Service that it is a “different company” and requested that there not be “and misidentification” so as to implicate it in the civil suit.
Attorneys for the defunct Vivint Solar Inc. were not listed in the Riverside County Superior Court register.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Vivint Solar repeatedly misrepresented its terms of sale of residential photovoltaic systems to customers between August 2016 and October 2020.
Prosecutors further alleged that disclosures which should have been made to buyers were not, including projected savings from “Solar Power Purchase Agreements.” The civil complaint also alleged that consumers’ ability to cancel solar PPAs were not adequately addressed prior to sales.
The settlement calls for $1.3 million in civil penalties, and that $3 million be set aside in a “restitution fund” that consumers who were allegedly harmed by agreements covering the period in question may qualify to access.
Riverside County will receive $510,000 from the penalty distribution, according to the DA’s office.
The agency said directions on how parties may apply for disbursals from the restitution fund will eventually be posted on the Sunrun web portal, www.sunrun.com.