Top Tier Solar Solutions Lawsuits and Consumer Complaints

Top Tier Solar Solutions, the Charlotte-based residential solar installer, is currently defending one active federal lawsuit and has been named in or brought several others since its 2021 founding. The lawsuits against Top Tier Solar Solutions include a race discrimination and wage case filed by former workers that is set for jury trial in August 2026, a consumer warranty case in Virginia that settled in July 2025, and a breach of contract case the company itself filed in South Carolina. Alongside the litigation, the company has drawn 219 Better Business Bureau complaints over three years and a Charlotte TV investigation into its door-to-door sales practices.

Rollinson: The Federal Discrimination and Wage Case

The most substantial lawsuit against Top Tier is Rollinson et al v. Top Tier Solar Solutions, LLC et al, filed in 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Case No. 3:23-cv-00191). Andrew O’Darius Rollinson, Andrew Jackson Rollinson, and Vanessa Fri-Cia Rollinson brought twelve claims without attorneys, naming the company and seven individuals: Jacob P. Van Wynen, Samuel Van Wynen, Mark Wagoner, Jacob Hovley, Anthony Feick, Pete Van Wynen, and Austin Taylor.¹

The complaint alleged race discrimination and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, hostile work environment, violations of the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act, and retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the North Carolina Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act. Two of the plaintiffs also brought breach of contract and injunctive relief claims tied to a separate home solar installation contract with the company.²

What the Court Dismissed

On September 24, 2024, Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation and narrowed the case considerably. The court dismissed the retaliation claims under § 1981, REDA, and the FLSA against all defendants, finding the plaintiffs’ allegations “thin,” short on specifics, and unable to plausibly link protected activity to any adverse employment action. Race discrimination claims against Pete Van Wynen were dismissed, all claims against Austin Taylor were dismissed, and the court declined to hear the breach of contract and injunctive relief claims tied to the home installation.²

What Survives and When Trial Is Set

Three sets of claims remain live: Section 1981 race discrimination against Top Tier, Samuel Van Wynen, and Jacob Hovley; hostile work environment against Top Tier and Samuel Van Wynen; and North Carolina Wage and Hour Act claims against the company.² The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment in December 2025 seeking to end the remaining claims before trial.³ A jury trial was originally scheduled for May 2026 and was reset for August 17, 2026, before District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. in Charlotte, due to limited court availability in the June term.⁴

Spratley: The Warranty Case That Settled

A consumer case, Spratley v. Top Tier Solar Solutions, LLC (Case No. 3:24-cv-00772), was filed on November 1, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The complaint invoked consumer credit statutes and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the federal law governing product warranty obligations.⁵

The parties settled. The case was dismissed with prejudice on July 1, 2025, through a joint stipulation, with the court retaining jurisdiction to enforce the settlement. The settlement terms were not publicly disclosed on the docket.⁵

A Case Top Tier Filed Itself

Top Tier has also been the plaintiff. In April 2023, the company sued Natalia Romy in the Court of Common Pleas for Spartanburg County, South Carolina, alleging commercial breach of contract. As of mid-2024 the docket showed continuing status updates but no reported resolution.⁶

Consumer Complaints Outside Court

The Better Business Bureau lists 219 complaints against Top Tier over the past three years, 109 of them closed in the most recent twelve months. The three largest categories are service or repair issues (77), sales and advertising issues (66), and order issues (48).⁷ The company still holds an A+ BBB rating, which the BBB notes reflects factors like business size and responsiveness rather than customer review scores.⁸

Sales Tactics

A recurring pattern in the complaints involves door-to-door approaches. Consumers reported that representatives appeared at their homes claiming to be technicians from solar equipment manufacturers such as SolarEdge or Enphase, said they needed to run a “system audit,” and then shifted into a sales pitch for batteries or added panels.⁹ Others described text messages falsely stating that their original installer no longer serviced warranties and that Top Tier had “taken over.”⁸ Some consumers described “scare tactics” about supposed utility rate increases used to press for an immediate signature.

System Performance and Installation

Consumers have frequently alleged that their systems were undersized and failed to produce the energy offsets, often cited at 95 percent, that sales staff promised, leaving them paying both solar loan installments and substantial utility bills. Complaints describe installation defects including a worker falling through a customer’s ceiling during a December 2025 installation, improper connections to a home’s main breaker causing power instability, and batteries left disconnected and inoperable for months after installation.⁷

Contract and Cancellation Complaints

Other complaints allege that a sales representative signed a contract on a consumer’s behalf without their knowledge, that the company threatened cancellation penalties of thousands of dollars even where no work had been performed, and that deposits were not returned after cancellation.⁹

The WSOC-TV Investigation

Charlotte station WSOC-TV profiled a Hickory homeowner named Shirley who signed an $82,000 solar contract after a door-to-door salesman promised significant energy savings and the possibility of nearly $25,000 in tax credits. Her first full month with the system produced a $135 electric bill, on top of the loan payment; her pre-solar bills had run from $133 to $201.¹⁰

Top Tier told the station that Shirley’s system was “working exactly as expected and designed,” that savings figures are calculated over a full year rather than a single month, and that her recent energy usage had increased. The contract said tax credits were “potential” and not guaranteed and that the company had “no authority to alter or issue tax credits.” The station reported that the BBB had received more than 40 complaints against the company in the year before publication, many alleging promised savings that customers did not see.¹⁰

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vLex. Rollinson v Top Tier Solar Sols
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CaseMine. Rollinson v Top Tier Solar Sols
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PACER Monitor. Rollinson et al v Top Tier Solar Solutions LLC et al, Filing 106
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PACER Monitor. Rollinson et al v Top Tier Solar Solutions LLC et al
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PACER Monitor. Spratley v Top Tier Solar Solutions LLC
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Trellis Law. Top Tier Solar Solutions LLC vs Natalia Romy
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Better Business Bureau. Top Tier Solar Solutions LLC Complaints
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Better Business Bureau. Top Tier Solar Solutions LLC BBB Profile
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Better Business Bureau. Top Tier Solar Solutions LLC Complaints
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WSOC-TV. Homeowner Regrets Spending $82K on Solar Panels