Solar Contract Arbitration Clauses: What Homeowners Should Know

What does a solar contract arbitration clause do?

A solar contract arbitration clause sends disputes with the company to a private arbitrator instead of a court. Several of the clauses quoted in the solar cases below also required claims to proceed individually, which rules out class actions. Federal law makes these clauses enforceable unless a ground exists that would undo any contract, and courts have both enforced and refused them in solar cases, depending on how the clause was written and whether the homeowner agreed to it.

An arbitration clause is a contract term that requires disputes to be decided by a private arbitrator, with limited court review of the result.

A class action waiver is a term that bars you from bringing or joining a group claim.

A delegation clause is a term that gives the arbitrator, instead of a judge, the power to decide whether the arbitration clause is valid and what it covers.

An opt-out provision lets you reject the arbitration clause by notice within a period the contract sets.

A small claims carve-out lets a claim within the small claims court’s limit go to that court instead of arbitration.

Why are arbitration clauses so hard to get around?

Section 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act makes a written arbitration agreement in a contract involving commerce “valid, irrevocable, and enforceable,” except on grounds that exist for revoking any contract. Unconscionability and a failure to agree at all are the grounds that come up in the solar cases below.

Class waivers are hard to attack too. In AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, decided April 27, 2011, the Supreme Court held that the Act preempts California’s Discover Bank rule, which had treated many class waivers in consumer arbitration agreements as unconscionable. The CFPB adopted a rule in 2017 that would have barred covered consumer financial companies from using arbitration agreements to block class actions; Congress disapproved it in Public Law 115-74, signed November 1, 2017, which says the rule “shall have no force or effect.”

Where is the arbitration clause in a solar deal?

It can be in more than one document. In Pearson v. Sunnova (D.D.C. 2025), the homeowner had signed four separate arbitration clauses in one packet: in the installation terms, a subcontractor’s home improvement plan, a loan and security agreement, and a warranty agreement. Check every document you signed, including the loan, lease or PPA, the installation agreement and any warranty.

Look for these parts of each clause:

• Scope. The GoodLeap loan clause quoted in two court records, one federal and one state, covers “All claims and disputes arising out of or relating to this Agreement.”
• Who decides arbitrability. The same clause says “The arbitrator shall also decide any issues relating to the making, validity, enforcement, or scope of this arbitration agreement.”
• The provider. AAA or JAMS rules, which set fees and small claims options.
• An opt-out. Its method and deadline, if there is one.
• A small claims carve-out.
• Who pays fees and costs.

Can you opt out of a solar arbitration clause?

Only if your contract says so. No statute gives a general right to opt out of a consumer arbitration clause; any window comes from the contract. Court records quote GoodLeap loan agreements with opt-out language: a 2023 federal report and recommendation in Florida quotes a clause whose class waiver applies “UNLESS YOU OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION,” and a 2025 Texas appeals opinion quotes a clause with an opt-out by written notice. If your clause has one and the deadline hasn’t passed, send the notice exactly as it says, to the address it names, and keep proof of delivery.

What does arbitration cost a homeowner?

Provider rules cap the consumer’s filing fee when your clause uses them.

Provider	What the consumer pays to file	Who pays the rest	Small claims
American Arbitration Association	At most $225, with fee waivers for those who qualify; $0 if the business files	The business pays the remaining administrative fees and the arbitrator’s compensation	Either party may go directly to small claims court for claims within its limit
JAMS	$250 when the consumer starts the case	The company pays all other costs	No party may be kept out of small claims court for claims within its jurisdiction

The AAA says “The most the consumer would be asked to pay for a AAA consumer arbitration case is $225.” JAMS says the $250 is “approximately equivalent to current court filing fees,” and its standards add that “The consumer’s access to arbitration must not be precluded by the location of the arbitration.” Your own lawyer’s fees are separate, so read what your clause says about them.

What have courts done with solar arbitration clauses?

Case	Court and year	Contract and claim	Result
Cabatit v. Sunnova	California Court of Appeal, 2020, published 2021	Lease; alleged roof damage	Arbitration refused: the clause was procedurally and substantively unconscionable
Knight v. Vivint Solar Developer	New Jersey Appellate Division, 2020	PPA; homeowner said she never signed it	Order compelling arbitration vacated and sent back for a hearing on whether she agreed
Aanderud v. Superior Court (Vivint Solar)	California Court of Appeal, 2017	PPA; individual and class claims	Delegation clause enforced, so the arbitrator decides enforceability and whether the clause covers class claims
Solcius and GoodLeap v. Meraz	Texas Court of Appeals, 2023	Installation and loan; homeowner denied signing	Arbitration compelled on conclusive evidence of e-signatures
GoodLeap v. Garza	Texas Court of Appeals, 2025	Loan; homeowner said he was never told he was signing a loan	Trial court’s refusal to compel arbitration reversed
Pearson v. Sunnova	U.S. District Court, D.C., 2025	Installation, loan and warranty; alleged roof leaks	Signer’s claims sent to arbitration; non-signing spouse dismissed

The opinions show what tipped each case. In Cabatit, the clause made the homeowners arbitrate while letting Sunnova sue on a broadly defined “default”; the court said Sunnova “reserved the right to take most of its claims to court” while denying the homeowners “the same opportunity.” In Knight, the homeowner said she signed an otherwise blank iPad screen and never saw the agreement, and the court held “it is unclear from the record whether plaintiff agreed to arbitrate disputes under the agreement.” In Meraz and Garza, where the companies produced DocuSign certificates, the appeals courts sided with the companies.

What does an arbitration clause mean for your dispute?

It changes where a claim against the company is heard. It doesn’t change the free steps. Complaints to your state attorney general, the CFPB, the FTC and a licensing board are reports to government agencies, and state attorneys general bring their own cases in court: Minnesota sued four solar lenders in 2024 over alleged hidden dealer fees, and that case is pending in Hennepin County District Court.

On a loan, the Holder Rule notice lets you raise claims against the seller with the lender, with recovery that “SHALL NOT EXCEED AMOUNTS PAID BY THE DEBTOR HEREUNDER.” Whether such a claim goes to court or to arbitration depends on the loan’s clause; we found no agency guidance on the question.

If you never agreed to the contract, say so in writing early and ask for the signing record, because whether you agreed can decide the forum. See forged signatures and the dispute documents checklist. Don’t stop paying while a forum is sorted out without advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

What order should you follow?

1. Inside a cancellation window? Put the cancellation in writing, delivered the way the contract and the law require, and copy the lender the same day. No cancellation happens on its own; the contract type, the dates, your state and the facts decide it. See the state table and the deadline tool.
2. Identify your contract and every company, and find each company’s arbitration clause.
3. Ask in writing, and complain for free. For a system you bought, the FTC says: “If you have a problem with a system you bought, try to resolve it with the company first.” The CFPB’s complaint page asks, “Have you tried reaching out to the company?” For leases and PPAs, Treasury, the CFPB and the FTC jointly encourage complaints “with CFPB, FTC, or their relevant state consumer protection office.” See filing a complaint.

Disclosure: Candid Yak works with Titan Advocacy Group, a solar consumer advocacy firm, and may be paid when readers hire it.

4. If they refuse, and your contracts show a gap between the sales promises and the signed terms, get a free case review from an attorney-backed firm. With an arbitration clause in the contract, the review should cover the forum, the opt-out, the fee rules and the signing record, because each bears on what a claim is worth. Look for a firm that reads your contracts before it quotes, tells you if a free route is still open, names the attorney licensed in your state who will handle the file, puts its fee and what happens to the fee after a refusal in writing, never tells you to stop paying, and never guarantees a result or claims ties to your installer or lender.
5. Other routes: small claims court where the clause and rules allow it, a buyout or transfer at sale for a lease or PPA, or a payoff or refinance for a loan. The main exit guide covers each.

Disclosure: Candid Yak works with Titan Advocacy Group, a solar consumer advocacy firm, and may be paid when readers hire it. This page’s author, Kira Fairbank, is a manager at Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether an arbitration clause binds you turns on its exact words, how you signed, and your state’s contract law, so put the contract in front of an attorney licensed in your state before you send an opt-out or a notice, sign a release, or change any payment.