Penalty Amount
$100,000
The Connecticut Attorney General announced a $100,000 settlement with Spruce Power 3, LLC to resolve an investigation into billing, customer service, and warranty issues stemming from consumer complaints. The settlement includes refunds for improper charges and requires reforms to improve billing practices and response times. Separately, an investigation was initiated into SunStrong Management LLC based on approximately 65 consumer complaints regarding warranty failures, unresponsiveness, and fees.
Spruce Power must pay a $100,000 monetary penalty, provide refunds for improper charges, and implement a compliance program to ensure timely responses to consumer complaints and improved billing practices.
In-house legal teams should review solar energy contracts for clauses related to billing accuracy, warranty terms, customer service response times, and procedures for contract assignments or transfers. Ensure contracts include clear refund policies, dispute resolution mechanisms, and obligations for handling consumer complaints to avoid similar enforcement actions.
Entity
Spruce Power 3, LLC
Also known as: Spruce Power 3
Industry
Technology"Spruce Power 3, LLC"
"$100,000 payment"
"billing, customer service, warranty issues"
$2.0M
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of four other states and the FTC sued Zillow and Redfin after Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its multifamily rental advertising business and transfer clients to Zillow. The settlement requires the companies to restore competition, with Redfin rebuilding its apartment advertising business, and pay $2 million to the coalition.
Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to the Connecticut Insurance Department urging rejection of double-digit rate increases sought by Anthem, ConnectiCare, and UnitedHealthcare for individual and small group health insurance plans covering about 220,000 people. The letter argues the rates exceed inflationary measures and criticizes the carriers for failing to control costs and for poor claims system management, particularly ConnectiCare's transition to Molina Healthcare.
$275K
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $275,000 settlement with TaxAct, an online tax preparation company, over allegations that between January 2018 and December 2022, TaxAct improperly disclosed detailed customer financial information to Meta and Google through third-party tracking technologies without notifying taxpayers. The settlement requires TaxAct to pay $275,000 and implement new third-party tracking compliance measures, including a review committee, written policies, a tag monitoring system, and two independent third-party audits.
$4.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the Federal Trade Commission announced a $4 million settlement with Manchester City Nissan (Chase Nissan LLC) resolving allegations that the dealership double-charged for 'certified pre-owned' vehicles and collected unauthorized junk fees. The settlement requires payment for consumer redress, prohibits misrepresentations, mandates clear disclosure of the maximum total price, and requires express informed consent for all charges.
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and DHS to block demands for the personal information of 17 million CDL drivers. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to prevent the data transfer.
Attorney General William Tong and a coalition of 10 attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a new OCC rule that preempts state laws requiring national banks to pay interest on homeowners' mortgage escrow accounts. The lawsuit argues the OCC ignored federal court decisions and bypassed safeguards, and seeks to block the rule.