Pro Solar Hawaii the FTC and the CRFA of 2016

 It has been suggested that now that I have received the letter from the Hawaii Regulated Complaints office, I should file a complaint with the FTC about Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii has filed a lawsuit for my online reviews of the horrible service I received from him. I might point out Ryan Thompson, dba Pro Solar Hawaii did not defend himself in any kind of a hearing to the RICO charges; he/just paid the fine. Yet, spends thousands of dollars to sue me for leaving reviews of him. Odd, no?

But, let us not stray off course. In 2016  due to the enormous number of lawsuits in the court systems, congress was forced to pass The Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) This act is to protect people’s ability to share their honest opinions about a business’s products, services, or conduct, in any forum, including social media.

The law, as written, protects most honest consumer assessments, including online reviews, social media posts, upload photos/videos, etc. But, of wonder, it's not just product reviews it covers. It also applies to consumer evaluations of a company’s customer service. Is this not ultimately what this blog is?

Now, that last paragraph is important. Ryan Thompson, dba Pro Solar Hawaii has often said that my posting reviews of the well-proven horrible service I received from him violates our contract. A contract that it appears even RICO says is not a valid contract. See, Ryan Thompson, dba Pro Solar Hawaii says that an arbitration clause prevented me from posting my reviews and issues. I swear that's not an exaggeration.  

On July 5th, 2018, Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii through his attorney, filed in the Circuit Court of the third district in the state and county of Hawaii an amended complaint about "breach of contract." In "Count 1 - Breach Of Contract," paragraph 12 says my posting reviews is a violation of the contract. (see below)

This, as I have been informed, turns out to violate the CRFA. I've visited the FTC website, and I gotta tell ya, it looks clear to me to be a violation! I am no lawyer and have no idea if I understand it correctly. One has to ask:  Now, why would a lawyer admit in a court filing that his client has breached the CRFA? The FTC website is obvious.

"To make sure your company is complying with the Consumer Review Fairness Act:

• Review your form contracts, including online terms and conditions; and
• Remove any provision that restricts people from sharing their honest reviews, penalizes those who do, or claims copyright over peoples’ reviews (even if you’ve never tried to enforce it or have no intention of enforcing it)."

I have not, as of posting, spoken to my attorney about this. I am going to. If this is a violation of the CRFA, it is my duty as an American to inform the FTC of this intimidation. I've really got nothing to lose. I have the evidence of the violation in a paper filed in the court by Ryan Thompson, dba Pro Solar Hawaii legal representative.

At this point, I have no reason not to file with the FTC about this. I could be wrong. In which case, nothing happens. But if I am correct, "The law specifies that a violation of the CRFA will be treated the same as violating an FTC rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice. This means that your company could be subject to financial penalties, as well as a federal court order." If I were Ryan Thompson, dba Pro Solar Hawaii my action would concern me in the penalties would scare the hell outta me.

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Bad Hawaii Solar Contractor

 Hopefully, nobody ever gets a bad Hawaii solar contractor. If by chance you do, and you live in the state of Hawaii, there is always The Regulated Industries Complaints Office.

If you get a bad Hawaii solar contractor and think what they did to you was not appropriate for a Hawaii solar contractor you can and should file a complaint with R.I.C.O. I am not going to lie to you and give you false hope. It will take years. This is not an instant gratification thing. What you complain about might not even be considered by R.I.C.O. to be of reason to pursue it further. To which I say "SO WHAT". It was and is to me to be more important to report a bad Hawaii solar contractor. What if what was done to you was/is a serious violation? As a consumer, you should stand up for yourself.

If you have been following my diary/blog you know I had what I consider to be a bad Hawaii Solar Contractor that many years ago (2015) I filed a complaint with R.I.C.O. about my issues with Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii. Yes, it really was all the way back in 2015. It has resolved in my favor.

See for yourself:

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What is new with the Ryan Thompson d.b.a. Pro Solar Hawaii case?

If I were considering using Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii at this point, I would definitely hold off on hiring them as they may not be in business when RICO gets done or, that they may not even be able to stay open after I win my case.

So, what is new with the Ryan Thompson d.b.a. Pro Solar Hawaii case? Not much really.  I have no idea why, but the number of people reading this blog has reached new levels over the past weeks.  The most popular post being "Pro Solar Hawaii does not know how to read an architect plan I think" and "A journal of dealing with Pro Solar Hawaii from a ripped off customer" The sudden spike in readers is clearly a good thing.

What else is new? My complaint to RICO is moving along. I understand they are getting ready to put my complaint in front of a council. Has taken 5 years but its all good. I am confident that Ryan Thompson d.b.a. Pro Solar Hawaii is not going to like the outcome of this. I feel good that there is some agreement with me that Ryan Thompson d.b.a. Pro Solar Hawaii did not do things as they should be done.

Back in Feb. there was a hearing on a Better Business Bureau of Hawaii motion to be removed from the case. I found it interesting that the actual attorney that filed the motion was not the attorney representing the BBB in court. I honestly didn't know it could be done this way. I really thought the attorney that signed the motion had to appear in court.

The plaintiff Ryan Thompson was not in court. It was only a hearing on a motion. Besides, he's only the one to bring the lawsuit. That is why he is the plaintiff. It's not important really. <~ sarcasm

I guess one could assume he couldn't make it to court because he could not afford the money for petrol to drive over. I dunno. I do know Ryan was not in court, but for his lawyer. who oddly had no position in the matter. Really? You have no position to weather you have to sue the BBB as well as me? That seems odd.

I would have to be tied up to keep me away. Lol I'm in it to win it. Besides, if you were paying for someone to argue your position for you, don't ya wanna see what you are getting first hand?  Maybe that's just me?

The Better Business Bureau of Hawaii's position was that they were not sued correctly. I don't understand the legal argument or law behind their position.

I, through my lawyer, filed an objection to the BBB's motion.  I believe that they should not be removed because it is their website Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii says he lost a contract because of my complaint published for all to read.

I did file a complaint to the BBB.  That complaint was published on the BBB website along with 2 other complaints.  I have no control over what the BBB published to their website.

The judge seemed to agree with my position in the matter. He denied the BBB motion.

There is no question now that the BBB and I are both being sued by Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii. I am certainly open to working with the Better Business Bureau of Hawaii against Pro Solar Hawaii's lawsuit.

I have a very strong feeling at this point that Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii knows full well they are going to lose their case. I have also provided evidence to him that will prove my lawsuit against him is a slam dunk win for me. 

If I were considering using Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii at this point, I would definitely hold off on hiring them as they may not even have a contractor's license when RICO gets done or, that they may not even be able to stay open after I win my case. Better safe than sorry.

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Review of Pro Solar Hawaii Court Case

Lets get going with this Review of Pro Solar Hawaii court case post. The shortest funniest way to do this is to say that they got their derriere handed to them gift wrapped today. I'd say there is a tear that was shed today.

Well now, what a special day in court! Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii I'm going to guess is not happy at all after todays court hearing.  There appeared to be extra squirming on his (Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii ) part before and after the Judge made their case against me twice as hard and i would guess twice as expensive for them.

If you have followed my blog as I keep it updated as to what happens as I deal with what i see as the worst solar contractor company on the Big Island of Hawaii, Pro Solar Hawaii.  You know in the case of Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii  vs. Me, I had left off where I filed motions with the court (Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii lawsuit update 2.0).   One was the "Motion of Defendant to Strike References to Matters Covered by Rule 408." This goes to Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii's claim that my offers of settlement were nothing but an attempt to extort money from them.  Funny thing is that as of today, my first settlement offer would have been cheaper for Pro Solar Hawaii than the amount it's going to be after this and upcoming cases will be in total.  LOL!

Today his Honorable Judge approved my "Motion to Strike References to Matters Covered by Rule 408" -- my settlement offer made at the request of Pro Solar Hawaii.  I'm not a big city lawyer. Nor do I play one on TV. But i am going to go out on a limb and say the part of their lawsuit where they claim "blackmail and extortion" is now out for good.  It was silly for Pro Solar Hawaii to even try.  Although, I do find that they did all kinds of silly things when I hired them. See my post - Pro Solar Hawaii does not know how to read an architect plan I think.

The next beauty handed to Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii is that my "Motion of Defendant to Dismiss Amended Complaint for Failure to Join Necessary Party" produced an order by his Honorable Judge that to be able to sue me, they have to also sue the Better Business Bureau.  By claiming that Thomas Paddock, CEO of Sound Research Corporation, decided not to do business with him based on what the Better Business Bureau posted to their website. The Judge says that the BBB must be sued with me. This is not going to be an easy task for Pro Solar Hawaii. One can easily see that to sue the BBB is going to cost a lot of money. Not only in filing costs, service, etc., but the BBB I'd say are going to call in the big guns from Honolulu. This makes me especially giddy as now I will know exactly why Pro Solar Hawaii lost its BBB accreditation, and that I  had been lied to by Pro Solar Hawaii using the BBB's name.

Pro Solar Hawaii is now in a world of shi-!

I also can't help wondering if Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii bringing the BBB into a lawsuit will keep Ryan Thompson from ever having a business accredited with them ever again?  I can't believe the BBB is going to be too happy to hear that a formerly accredited business is suing them for what they posted to their website.  Truth be told, I truly and honestly do hope that Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii does not decide to drop his case instead of trying to bring the BBB into their  frivolous lawsuit.  It's worth every penny to me just to watch Ryan Thompson in court.

I do have to admit in the spirit of transparency that not all my motions today were granted by the court. My "Motion of Defendant to Dismiss Amended Complaint for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted, or in the Alternative,  for a More Definitive Statement" was not granted at this point.  Please!  No pity party for me yet, thank you..

 I'm only guessing when I tell you the reason is, it would be moot because the case cannot be moved forward until the BBB is added as a Defendant.  That does not mean it will not be granted later. Pro Solar Hawaii may just decide costs and time are going to be outside their comfort zone.  I do beg them to continue, I really do.  I still have many other things for this case up my sleeve.   I'll bet this case will make one from the TV show LA Law look like a small claims court case from BFE. :)

That is the Review of Pro Solar Hawaii court case. I look forward to seeing just how Ryan Thompson dba Pro Solar Hawaii  decides they want to proceed.

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