On March 8, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a securities class action filed against SolarCity, a leader in full-service solar power systems. The case was filed following the announcement of a restatement of certain financial results by SolarCity, driven by an error in one of the formulas used to calculate how SolarCity accounted for certain costs of its solar systems. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented SolarCity, as well as its former CEO and former CFO, in the matter.

After two previous dismissals, on August 9, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed all claims with prejudice, finding that the plaintiffs had not satisfied the requirement that they allege sufficient facts to raise a strong inference of scienter. On March 8, 2018, the Ninth Circuit published an opinion that affirmed the district court's dismissal, holding that the plaintiff failed to adequately plead the necessary scienter.

The Wilson Sonsini team representing SolarCity in the matter included partners Ignacio Salceda and Benjamin Crosson and associate Evan Seite.

For more information, please refer to the court's opinion.