Smart Energy Class Action Challenges ‘Clean Energy Project’ Robocalls

Smart Energy USA was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the company used illegal auto dialing to drum up business under the guise of a “Clean Energy Project.”

Lead plaintiff Kevin Lemieux says he received several unsolicited calls on his mobile phone for the “Clean Energy Project.”

The plaintiff claims that a pre-recorded “urgent public announcement” message was left and he was told that he had to call back to “stop the electricity bill increase.”

Lemieux says when he called back he answered a number of questions from supposed Clean Energy Project representatives and was told he “qualified” for the program.

The plaintiff says he made an appointment with what he thought was the program to have people come to his home address, but later cancelled. He says that when he cancelled he asked to be removed from their dialing list, but he again received a pre-recorded message from the Clean Energy Project a few weeks later.

The plaintiff claims he later found out that the “Clean Energy Project” calls were made by a business called Smart Energy USA who does solar energy contracting and installation throughout California.

The plaintiff also alleges that Clean Energy Project representatives misrepresented the nature of the call by telling him that they represented a “community organization.” Lemieux further claims that he asked the representatives outright if they were telemarketers and they said they were not.

According to the complaint, Smart Energy violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by accessing and using his mobile number without his consent. The plaintiff also accuses Smart Energy of using an auto dialer in violation of the TCPA.

“The voicemail messages Plaintiff received were created using a pre-recorded and/or artificial voice. As it is highly unlikely that Defendant’s representative manually dialed Plaintiff’s telephone number and subsequently placed a prerecorded message when Plaintiff did not answer, Defendant’s use of an artificial or prerecorded message indicates that Defendant’s call was placed with an automatic telephone dialing system,” alleges the plaintiff in his complaint.

According to the class action lawsuit, Smart Energy violated individual’s privacy by calling without prior consent. They also allegedly cost the proposed Class “needless time” in receiving, answering, and deleting unwanted calls, as well as using up minutes, data and availability on their mobile devices.

The plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide Class of people with mobile phones who received at least one Clean Energy robocall. The plaintiff is seeking damages and injunctive relief.

Lemieux is represented by Nicholas J. Bontrager and G. Thomas Martin, III of Martin & Bontrager APC.

The Clean Energy Project Auto Dial Class Action Lawsuit is Kevin Lemieux v. Smart Energy Solar Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-00694-DMS-BLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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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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