Counsel for the plaintiff Class in a SolarCity TCPA lawsuit says the defendant company tried to alter the terms of their settlement in final draft documents.
The Class has asked a California federal judge to enforce a settlement term sheet that was agreed upon by both parties in early May. The parties allegedly had a deal that ensured SolarCity would place $15 million in a fund specifically designated to settle the lawsuit. When SolarCity’s lawyers drafted the settlement agreement, the attorneys ad libbed new provisions that were never discussed, the plaintiffs say.
The SolarCity TCPA lawsuit settlement draft included an escape clause for the company that allowed SolarCity to void the settlement agreement if a certain number of class members decided to opt out of the settlement. Plaintiffs say that provision was never discussed in the settlement talks.
The putative class alleges the draft also veered from the original terms of the $15 million settlement fund. Instead of saying the fund would be created all at once, the draft from SolarCity’s lawyers said the company would “instead make three separate payments over what would likely be a multi-year period.”
SolarCity TCPA Lawsuit Settlement Terms Allegedly Altered
“The preparation of settlement documents based on the May 19 term sheet should have been a scrivening exercise,” the putative Class said. “But SolarCity attempted to change the deal by inserting … completely different payment terms that would potentially leave the class without payment for several years and a blowup provision that would completely change the calculus of the deal.”
The putative class says the term sheet includes anyone in the United States who has received one or more unwanted calls to their cellphones from SolarCity since Nov. 6, 2011. The sales calls could have been made using an artificial voice. Class Members are those who received at least two calls during a 12-month time span while their cell phone numbers were on the National Do-Not-Call Registry.
SolarCity is a nationwide solar energy provider with more than 14,000 employees.
The SolarCity TCPA lawsuit alleges the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The TCPA was enacted in 1991 to protect consumers from unwanted telemarketing phone calls and faxes. The act is especially designed to prevent automated phone dialing systems from sending unsolicited phone calls.
At the time TCPA coverage was extended to cover calls to cell phones, most cell phone plans charged by the phone call or by the minute, which means the recipient of such calls would be charged to receive them. This is still the case with some, but not all, cell phone plans today.
The TCPA is not just about money, though. It is about privacy.
If you have been the victim of unwanted phone calls or text messages from SolarCity or any other business, you could have a legal claim.
The SolarCity TCPA Lawsuit is Case No. 3:15-cv-05107 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
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