Home Depot, BP Defective Solar Panel Class Action Lawsuit Reduced

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Home Depot USA Inc. and the former BP unit, BP Solar International Inc., will face a class action lawsuit over the sale of allegedly defective solar panels, said a California federal judge last week, although with fewer claims than plaintiffs wished.

The BP Solar class action lawsuit filed by lead plaintiffs Michael Allagas, Arthur Ray and Brett Mohrman intends to represent all California residents who purchased solar panels manufactured by BP Solar or residents who purchased properties on which the solar panels were installed. The Home Depot class action lawsuit claimed that solar panels sold by Home Depot, from the former BP unit, are defective, designed with a flaw that causes a joint to overheat and the solar panels to break. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston dismissed claims for breach of the express defect warranty, breach of implied warranty and violations of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

The term of the plaintiffs’ defect warranties was the major issue in Judge Illston’s decision. According to the April 21 order, Allagas and Ray’s defect warranties were for a period of five years and their power warranties were 12 and 25 years, respectively, while Mohrman’s defect warranty was for a period of two years and his power warranty was for 12 and 25 years, respectively. The warranty is enforceable by the first purchaser who purchased the panels or by purchasers of buildings on which the panels were first mounted; all named plaintiffs met this requirement. However, said Judge Illston, the plaintiffs reported the defect too late.

“Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim for breach of the express defect warranty as to all three named plaintiffs under both California law and the Song-Beverly Act,” the order said. “None of the named plaintiffs have alleged that the defects manifested during the defect warranty period such that they are covered by the express warranty.”

According to the BP solar panel class action lawsuit, originally filed in California state court but removed to federal district court in February, the solar panels were manufactured with a design defect that causes them to fail before the end of their expected useful life. The order says that the “panels are connected together by connection cables; the connection between the panels is made at a junction box attached to each solar panel,” and the class action lawsuit alleges that “a defect in the solar panel junction box and the solder joints between the connecting cables causes the solder joint to overheat, and the solar panels to break. The heat melts the junction box, burns the cables and the solar panel, and shatters the glass cover of the solar panel.”

Because of the defect in the junction box, say the plaintiffs, all solar panels relevant to this litigation “have failed or will fail before the end of their expected useful life.” The class action lawsuit claims that BP misrepresented in the written warranty for the solar panels, which said that BP would repair or replace the panels, or refund the purchase price in the even of a defect, that the panels would be free from defect. Because the BP unit shut down in 2011, say the plaintiffs, it cannot replace or repair the panels; the company offered to reimburse each of the plaintiffs for about a third of the total cost of removing and replacing the defective solar panels.

The claims under the unfair prong of the Unfair Competition Law were dismissed because the plaintiffs did not show a “distinct and palpable injury” because of the enforcement of the warranty exclusions against them, nor did any plaintiffs suffer injury from fire because of the allegedly defective solar panels.

There were some claims left standing in the class action lawsuit, however; Illston said she would uphold two of the plaintiffs’ claims for breach of express power warranty, one plaintiff’s claim for breach of express warranty under the Song-Beverly and Magnuson-Moss Acts and the plaintiffs’ class allegations.

The plaintiffs are represented by David M. Birka-White and Mindy M. Wong of the Birka-White Law Offices.

The BP Solar Panel Class Action Lawsuit is Allegas, et al. v. BP Solar International Inc., et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-00560, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Aug. 12, 2016, a former unit of BP LLC and Home Depot USA Inc. reportedly agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging BP produced defective solar panels, according to documents filed last week in California federal court.

UPDATE 2: The BP solar panel class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim.