KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The federal order clamping down on a Knoxville solar panel company has been upheld.

The judge in the case against the Solar Titan seems to accept some of the arguments from prosecutors. WATE’s Don Dare was in a Greeneville federal court this week as attorneys argued over whether to keep a temporary restraining order in place against Solar Titan and its executives. The ruling from Judge Clifton Corker means Solar Titan will stay under the control of a court-appointed receiver.

In addition, the temporary restraining order entered on February 7, 2023, is now a Preliminary Injunction.

Several Solar Titan customers say they had to wait on their systems or that they didn’t save money on power bills contrary to the pitch given by solar titan’s sales force. State prosecutors from Tennessee and Kentucky received similar complaints, leading them to take the company to court.

The judge wrote in the order that prosecutors are “likely to succeed” on several claims connected with the claim that the company’s practices were unfair, deceptive, or abusive due to the omission of material information, “which leads consumers to believe they will not be obligated to pay on their loan until their solar system is operational.” However, the judge said another argument about whether customers knew they might not qualify for a tax credit was unlikely to succeed.

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Richard Ray, Principal of Tria Financial Consulting, will remain as the appointed receiver of the company. He was originally appointed to the position on Feb. 7 in the temporary restraining order. He will assume temporary oversight of Solar Titan USA and its assets.

Previous Solar Titan coverage

He is also overseeing the evaluations of complaints and will present his recommended solution to the Court for approval. He can be reached at SolarReceiver@gmail.com.