Town of Genesee-based Generac Power Systems has been named in a new class action lawsuit that was filed in relation to the company’s SnapRS product.
This latest class action lawsuit was filed Friday in the Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of two men who reside in Indiana, as well as all other customers who may be affected.
The lawsuit is related to Generac’s SnapRS solar product, which has already been subject to several other lawsuits. It was initially Mooresville, North Carolina-based Pink Energy that sued Generac over the SnapRS component, which the company claimed malfunctioned, burned, or melted. Pink Energy installed solar systems for both men named in the lawsuit before the company filed for bankruptcy last fall.
The SnapRS is an inline disconnect device designed to rapidly shut down power to individual solar panels as required by the National Electric Code.
“In the worst-case scenario, the SnapRS can cause a home fire,” according to a complaint filed Friday. “At least three home fires have already been attributed to the defective SnapRS. Moreover, Generac has acknowledged that the SnapRS has a failure rate of 50% but has failed to issue a recall.”
The lawsuit alleges Generac has violated the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act. Congress enacted the MMWA to protect consumers from deceptive warranty practices. The MWWA puts in place a civil liability on any company that fails to comply with any obligation under a written or corresponding implied warranty. The lawsuit also alleges Generac has violated Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages worth over $5 million, with an exact amount to be determined at trial, as well as punitive damages and an order stating Generac can no longer “engage in wrongful acts.”
This is not the only lawsuit Generac is facing related to the SnapRS component. In October of 2022, customer Daniel Haak filed a putative class action lawsuit against Generac Power in the Middle District of Florida. Five additional putative class actions were filed by consumers of Generac clean energy products between November 2021 and March 2023.
The status of Pink Energy’s initial lawsuit against Generac remains unknown as Pink Energy works through bankruptcy proceedings. The bankruptcy filing stayed the company’s lawsuit against Generac.
