Using Massachusetts Chapter 93A Against a Solar Installer

If you're a Massachusetts homeowner whose solar installer won't honor a production guarantee, you've probably come across the phrase "Chapter 93A." It's the state's consumer-protection law, and it carries real teeth — including the possibility of double or triple damages and recovery of your attorney's fees. This page explains what Chapter 93A actually says, how it can relate to a solar production-guarantee dispute, and the one procedural step it requires before suit: a written demand letter.

What Chapter 93A Is

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A is the Commonwealth's consumer-protection statute. Its core prohibition is in Section 2(a), which is short and broad:

"Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are hereby declared unlawful." — M.G.L. c. 93A, § 2(a). Source: malegislature.gov (verified 2026-06-19).

Section 2(b) instructs Massachusetts courts to be guided by how the Federal Trade Commission and the federal courts interpret Section 5(a)(1) of the FTC Act when construing what counts as "unfair or deceptive." The statute deliberately doesn't list every prohibited act; it's a general standard the courts apply to the facts.

Section 9 is the part that gives a consumer the right to sue. (Section 11 covers business-to-business disputes — a different track.) For a homeowner with a solar contract, Section 9 is the relevant provision.

How It Can Relate to a Solar Production-Guarantee Dispute

A production guarantee is a contract term. A plain breach of contract, on its own, is not automatically a Chapter 93A violation — Massachusetts courts have drawn that line in many cases. What can bring conduct within the statute is the unfair or deceptive character of how the installer behaved: for example, misrepresenting what the system would produce, stringing a homeowner along, or refusing to honor a clear contractual obligation in a way a court finds unfair.

Whether a particular installer's conduct crosses that line is fact-specific and is exactly the kind of judgment a licensed Massachusetts attorney makes — not something OwlWatt or this page can decide for you. What OwlWatt provides is the factual foundation underneath any such claim: a documented, weather-adjusted production shortfall measured against your contract's guarantee.

The 30-Day Demand Letter (Section 9)

Chapter 93A has a distinctive procedural requirement: before a consumer files a Section 9 lawsuit, they must send a written demand. The statute states it directly:

"At least thirty days prior to the filing of any such action, a written demand for relief, identifying the claimant and reasonably describing the unfair or deceptive act or practice relied upon and the injury suffered, shall be mailed or delivered to any prospective respondent." — M.G.L. c. 93A, § 9(3). Source: malegislature.gov (verified 2026-06-19).

Three things follow from that text:

• The demand must describe the act and the injury. A vague complaint won't do — the letter has to identify you, reasonably describe the unfair or deceptive practice, and describe the injury. A documented production shortfall with a dollar figure is the kind of specific, sourced injury the statute contemplates.
• The recipient gets 30 days to respond. Section 9 lets the business make a written tender of settlement within 30 days. If a court later finds that a rejected tender was reasonable in relation to the actual injury, recovery can be limited to what was offered — which is one reason a well-supported demand matters.
• The demand requirement has exceptions. Per Section 9, it does not apply if the claim is asserted as a counterclaim or cross-claim, or if the prospective respondent "does not maintain a place of business or does not keep assets within the commonwealth." (Mass.gov's plain-language summary describes the same 30-day demand requirement.) Mass.gov: 30-day demand letter.

OwlWatt's separate free demand-letter template is a generic starting point for documenting a shortfall in writing. A Chapter 93A demand has specific legal requirements, so in Massachusetts you should have a licensed attorney prepare or review the demand to be sure it satisfies Section 9.

Double or Treble Damages and Attorney's Fees

The reason Chapter 93A is taken seriously is the remedy. Section 9 provides that a prevailing consumer recovers actual damages, and more in certain circumstances:

"…recovery shall be in the amount of actual damages or twenty-five dollars, whichever is greater; or up to three but not less than two times such amount if the court finds that the use or employment of the act or practice was a willful or knowing violation of said section two or that the refusal to grant relief upon demand was made in bad faith with knowledge or reason to know that the act or practice complained of violated said section two." — M.G.L. c. 93A, § 9(3). Source: malegislature.gov (verified 2026-06-19).

In plain terms: actual damages by default, and two to three times that amount if the violation was willful or knowing — or if the business refused to grant relief in bad faith after the demand. That second trigger is why a strong, well-documented demand letter matters: a business that ignores or unreasonably rejects a specific, sourced demand exposes itself to multiplied damages.

Section 9 also addresses fees:

"If the court finds in any action commenced hereunder that there has been a violation of section two, the petitioner shall, in addition to other relief provided for by this section and irrespective of the amount in controversy, be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in connection with said action…" — M.G.L. c. 93A, § 9(4). Source: malegislature.gov (verified 2026-06-19).

The fee-shifting provision is significant for a homeowner: it means a prevailing consumer can recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs, which changes the economics of pursuing an otherwise modest claim. (The same paragraph notes the court will deny fees incurred after a consumer rejects a reasonable written settlement offer made within 30 days of the demand — another reason the demand-and-response stage is where these cases are often shaped.) The Attorney General's plain-language overview, The Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law, summarizes these same remedies.

What This Means in Practice

If you're a Massachusetts homeowner facing a production-guarantee shortfall, the steps are:

1. Document the shortfall. You need a specific, weather-adjusted figure — guaranteed kWh, actual kWh, and the dollar amount — not a vague complaint about low production. This is the "injury suffered" the statute asks you to describe.
2. Talk to a licensed Massachusetts attorney. Chapter 93A is fact-specific, the demand has formal requirements, and the multiplied-damages and fee provisions reward getting it right. An attorney can also tell you whether your facts plausibly support a 93A claim versus a straight breach-of-contract claim.
3. Send a compliant Section 9 demand. Identify yourself, describe the practice and the injury, and attach your documentation. Then the 30-day clock runs.

If you'd rather understand the general escalation path first, see escalating a solar production claim, which also lists the Massachusetts Attorney General's Consumer Advocacy and Response Division among a 15-state directory. For the broader Massachusetts solar context, see solar in Massachusetts.

Sources

All statutory quotations on this page were verified against the official Massachusetts General Laws on 2026-06-19. Statutes are amended; confirm the current text before relying on it.

• M.G.L. c. 93A, § 2 — Unfair practices declared unlawful (malegislature.gov)
• M.G.L. c. 93A, § 9 — Consumer remedies, demand, damages, fees (malegislature.gov)
• The Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law (Mass.gov / Office of the Attorney General)
• 30-Day Demand Letter (Mass.gov)

Further Reading

• Solar Production Guarantee Demand Letter — a free, generic written-demand template (have an attorney tailor it for a 93A demand).
• Escalating a Solar Production Claim — the full escalation ladder and a 15-state Attorney General consumer-protection directory.
• How to File a Production Shortfall Claim — assembling the documentation that becomes your "injury suffered."
• Solar Production Guarantees, Explained — what the guarantee clause obligates the installer to do.
• Solar in Massachusetts — the SMART program and what local arrays should produce.

Other states have their own consumer-protection statutes: California (CLRA & UCL), Texas (DTPA), Florida (FDUTPA), New Jersey (Consumer Fraud Act), and New York (GBL §349 & §350).