The Sunnova solar lawsuit that drew the most attention was a securities fraud class action filed by investors in February 2024, accusing the Houston-based residential solar company of misleading the market about predatory sales practices aimed at elderly and disadvantaged homeowners. A federal judge dismissed that case in March 2025, and the plaintiffs’ appeal to the Fifth Circuit is now stayed because Sunnova filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2025. Separate homeowner lawsuits, state regulatory findings, and adversary proceedings inside the bankruptcy are still working their way through the courts.
What the Investor Class Action Alleged
In February 2024, investor Ricardo Trindade sued Sunnova Energy International Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The case, Trindade v. Sunnova Energy International Inc. (No. 4:24-cv-00569), was assigned to Judge Keith P. Ellison.1Law360. Trindade v Sunnova Energy International Inc et al Co-lead plaintiffs were appointed in May 2024, and a First Amended Class Action Complaint was filed on June 28, 2024.2Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. Sunnova Energy International Inc
The complaint covered a class period running from February 2020 through December 2023. It alleged that Sunnova and certain executives violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by concealing that the company routinely engaged in predatory business practices against disadvantaged homeowners and communities. Those were the same customers Sunnova’s “Project Hestia” solar loan program, backed by a nearly $3 billion Department of Energy loan guarantee, was supposed to help.3BusinessWire. Robbins Geller Rudman Dowd LLP Announces Sunnova Energy International Inc Investors Have Opportunity to Lead the Sunnova Class Action Lawsuit The investors argued that hiding this conduct exposed Sunnova to regulatory scrutiny and reputational harm the market did not know about, making the company’s public statements materially misleading.4ZLK. NOVA Complaint
The stock-drop event driving damages was a December 7, 2023 letter from congressional leaders to the DOE’s Loan Programs Office. The Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee cited “disturbing reports” that Sunnova had pressed elderly homeowners in poor health into signing long-term contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars.5GlobeNewsWire. Sunnova Faces Lawsuit After Congressional Probe of Troubling Sales Practices Sunnova’s share price fell about 16%, or roughly $2 per share, the next day.6ZLK. Sunnova Energy International Inc Litigation Report The congressional inquiry itself followed a November 2023 Washington Free Beacon report accusing Sunnova of scamming elderly homeowners.4ZLK. NOVA Complaint
Dismissal and the Stayed Appeal
The case did not clear its first hurdle. On March 14, 2025, the court granted Sunnova’s motion to dismiss, with leave to amend. The plaintiffs declined to amend, and final judgment was entered for the defendants on April 7, 2025. The lead plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on May 6, 2025.7Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. Sunnova Energy International Inc Securities Litigation
The appeal has not moved since. Sunnova’s Chapter 11 filing in June 2025 triggered an automatic stay, and as of the last available docket activity there is no indication of when it might resume.7Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. Sunnova Energy International Inc Securities Litigation
The Consumer Complaints Behind the Case
The investors’ allegations tracked a longer record of consumer grievances. A review of at least 50 Texas complaints filed since 2022 pointed to door-to-door sales representatives targeting elderly individuals, according to the Washington Free Beacon. One Texas woman said a salesman got her 86-year-old father, who had dementia, to sign a 25-year solar lease in 2020, leaving her a $34,000 contract after his death. Another said a salesman sold her father, who was on hospice care, a $60,000 solar system for his mobile home.8Washington Free Beacon. Solar Company Backed by $3 Billion Biden Loan Hit With Class Action Lawsuit
Puerto Rico, where Sunnova held roughly 96% of the residential solar rental market, produced its own pattern of complaints: English-only contracts customers did not fully understand, unexpected annual price escalations, systems that failed during outages, and long waits for repairs.9Centro de Periodismo Investigativo. Four Years Without Justice for Sunnova’s Solar Panel Customers
The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau investigated and, in a December 2020 resolution, found Sunnova in violation of the island’s Energy Transformation and Relief Act. The agency held that Sunnova had failed to provide full disclosure before customers signed, had not adequately explained how systems would interact with the power grid, and had used illegal mandatory arbitration clauses that blocked customers from reaching regulators. The bureau ordered Sunnova to develop a disclosure protocol and remove mandatory arbitration from its billing dispute process, but declined to grant remedies to the more than 500 customers who had already filed complaints, ruling that they had not used the correct adjudicative process. Puerto Rico’s Independent Consumer Protection Office said “justice was not served” and signaled it would seek to challenge the ruling. Sunnova’s Better Business Bureau certification was not renewed in 2020 because the company failed to resolve a required number of complaints.9Centro de Periodismo Investigativo. Four Years Without Justice for Sunnova’s Solar Panel Customers
Bankruptcy and Sale to Solaris
Sunnova’s financial position collapsed in the spring of 2025. A subsidiary, Sunnova TEP Developer LLC, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition on June 1, 2025. Sunnova Energy International Inc., Sunnova Energy Corporation, and Sunnova Intermediate Holdings LLC followed on June 8, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Case No. 25-90160), before Judge Alfredo R. Perez.10Kroll Restructuring Administration. Sunnova Energy International Inc Restructuring The company had already cut roughly 55% of its workforce, about 718 employees, before the filing.11Houston Public Media. Houston-Based Solar Energy Company Sunnova Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Just days before the petition, the Trump administration canceled Sunnova’s nearly $3 billion DOE loan guarantee, after the company had drawn about $371 million.12Bloomberg. Trump Administration Cancels $3 Billion Loan to Troubled Sunnova
An entity called Solaris Assets LLC, formed by an ad hoc group of debtor-in-possession lenders and affiliates controlled by GoodFinch Management LLC, won the auction for substantially all of Sunnova’s assets. The acquisition closed on September 4, 2025, transferring Sunnova’s residential solar servicing platform and its solar generation and storage portfolio to Solaris.13PV Magazine USA. Solaris Acquires Sunnova Assets, Puts SunStrong in Control of Legacy Systems The bankruptcy court confirmed Sunnova’s Third Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan on November 12, 2025, and the plan became effective November 14, 2025.10Kroll Restructuring Administration. Sunnova Energy International Inc Restructuring
What This Means for Sunnova Customers
After the Solaris deal closed, SunStrong Management LLC, a joint venture between SunPower and affiliates of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, took over servicing, maintenance, billing, and collection for most of Sunnova’s in-service customers. Existing leases, loans, power purchase agreements, and warranties were meant to stay in effect, and customers were told to keep paying as usual until SunStrong sent updated instructions. For homeowners with incomplete installations, SunStrong began working with GoodLeap to finish certain in-progress projects; those customers were directed to call (888) 975-5436 or email sunnovasupport@goodleap.com.14Sunnova Energy. Sunnova Energy
The handoff has already drawn regulatory attention. By March 2026, the Connecticut Attorney General’s office and the state Department of Consumer Protection had received about 65 complaints about SunStrong. Consumers reported that SunStrong was failing to honor warranties, not responding to complaints, and charging a $10 monthly fee for access to solar production data. On February 27, 2026, Attorney General William Tong issued a civil investigative demand seeking records about contract transfers, terms and conditions, quality control, and complaints.15Connecticut Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Tong Announces New Developments to Hold Solar Industry Accountable
Homeowner Lawsuits Still Active
The reorganization plan closed the door on much of the pre-bankruptcy litigation, but not all of it. Adversary proceedings continue inside the bankruptcy case. One example is Ortega v. Sunnova Energy International Inc. (Case No. 26-03002), a declaratory judgment action filed January 5, 2026. The plaintiff, Jamie Eugene Ortega, filed an amended complaint on May 15, 2026, naming Sunnova Energy Corporation, Sunnova Energy International, the Sunnova Creditor Trust (through Trustee Thomas A. Pitta), SunStrong Capital Holdings, SunStrong Management, and Launch Servicing as defendants. The Creditor Trustee moved to dismiss on June 12, 2026, and discovery runs through September 2026, with a pre-trial conference set for November 2026.16PACER Monitor. Ortega v Sunnova Energy International Inc
Other homeowners have filed adversary proceedings challenging UCC financing statement liens on their homes, alleging misrepresentation in sales agreements, or seeking the return of money and property. Sunnova’s estate has moved to dismiss many of these individual suits, arguing that the claims must run through the formal bankruptcy claims process rather than separate litigation.17Elevenflo. Sunnova Energy Bankruptcy If you have a Sunnova contract and believe you were misled or overcharged, the practical path forward is the bankruptcy claims process and, where a state regulator is already investigating the successor servicer, a complaint filed with that office.