Solar firm sues Google over AI-generated false claims

Staff Writer

A Minnesota solar energy installation company and four of its officers are suing Google, claiming that its artificial intelligence and autocomplete features falsely reported that the company had been sued by Attorney General Keith Ellison and had misled homeowners about costs and fees. The lawsuit accuses Google of defamation and seeks removal of the publications.

“This lawsuit is not just about defending our company’s reputation; it’s about standing up for fairness, truth, and accountability in the age of artificial intelligence,” Nicholas Kasprowicz, general counsel for Wolf River Electric, asserted. “No corporation, regardless of its size or market dominance, should be permitted to release powerful AI tools that generate and spread false information without proper oversight or consequences. What happened to Wolf River Electric is not an isolated failure; it is a warning. If left unchecked, this kind of technology poses a profound risk to the legal and reputational stability every business depends on.”

Although the complaint was filed in March in Ramsey County District Court, it was recently removed to federal court.

Wolf River Electric, headquartered in Isanti, installs solar panels in commercial and residential settings. Employees informed the company that “Google was producing and publishing statements on the internet that falsely informed the public that Wolf River was facing a lawsuit from the Minnesota Attorney General.”

Those publications were present in Google’s AI Overviews as well as autocomplete.

According to Google, “AI Overviews appear in Google Search results when our systems determine that generative responses can be especially helpful.” Google also states that autocomplete works because their “automated systems generate predictions that help people save time.”

But Wolf River says that what was included was untrue.

According to the complaint, Google stated: “According to recent news reports, Wolf River Electric is currently facing a lawsuit from the Minnesota Attorney General due to allegations of deceptive sales practices regarding their solar panel installations, including misleading customers about cost savings, using high-pressure tactics, and tricking homeowners into signing binding contracts with hidden fees; many customers claim they were not properly informed about the total cost of their solar systems and experienced significant issues with installation and functionality after signing contracts.”

It cited four websites as sources for the claim, including an article from The Minnesota Star Tribune, Angie’s List, a statement from the Minnesota Attorney General, and an article published by KROC news. Wolf River maintains that none of these sources state that Wolf River is facing a lawsuit from Ellison. The KROC article, according to the complaint, never even mentions Wolf River Electric.

Plaintiffs also allege that Google’s publication implies not only that it has been sued by Ellison, but also that Wolf River was guilty with consent judgments. The plaintiffs assert that when people search for the solar company on Google, they are prompted with the autocomplete phrase “Wolf River Electric lawsuit Minnesota Settlement.”

Users who then click on the search are, according to plaintiffs, provided additional information about a lawsuit with Ellison. It reads: “The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office had sued solar lending companies, including Wolf River Electric, over hidden fees and other practices. The office had obtained consent judgments against solar installers and lenders, returning over $300,000 to consumers.”

Wolf River also asserts that it has received notification of complaints filed with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. They claim that customers were prompted to do so by Google. When users clicked on the autocomplete search terms, Google had a section of the publication titled “How consumers can get help” and the number for the Attorney General’s Office.

Plaintiffs include the business and four of its officers, who were all mentioned by name in some of the Google AI Overviews. Those officers are Justin Nielsen, Vladimir Marchenko, Luka Bozek, and Jonathan Latcham. When searching for Nielsen on Google, for instance, users were presented with publications stating that he was sued by Ellison, which is false. Nielsen’s photo was even included in the overview.

The plaintiffs claim that Google’s statements have had a “cascading effect,” stating that members of the public not only believe that the statements are true but had relied upon those statements in publishing their own false statements in reliance on the claims. For instance, someone posting under the alias “FamousWealth2992” wrote a subreddit “Devilcorp” that Wolf River is “also being sued by the MN attorney general for deceptive contracts that have large hidden fees.”

Wolf River states that it has lost business as a result. In March 2025, several customers terminated their relationship with Wolf River, supposedly over the Google reviews. Some contracts were worth as much as $150,000.

Wolf River is suing Google for defamation, defamation per se, defamation by implication, and violation of the Minnesota Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It seeks damages in excess of $50,000 on the counts, and is seeking declaratory relief that “the internet publications must be removed because they are false, defamatory, or unlawful.”

Kasprowicz says the company brought the matter to Google’s attention, but “the company offered no corrective action, no public acknowledgment, and no commitment to prevent it from continuing.”

Google did not respond to request for comment.

“Google has publicly announced plans to invest $75 billion into artificial intelligence this year alone,” Kasprowicz commented. “It is clearly profiting from the deployment of this technology, while pushing the risks, costs, and consequences onto innocent businesses. There is no transparency. There is no accountability.”