HOA dropped lawsuit over solar panels after Belleville couple spent thousands fighting it

A Belleville couple got handed a legal victory when their homeowners association dropped a lawsuit against them for installing rooftop solar panels on the front and back of their home.

But Mark Bassler said he and his wife, Jennifer, have “mixed feelings.”

The couple recently learned that The Orchards Homeowners Association (HOA) motioned last month to dismiss a 2020 civil case in St. Clair County Circuit Court “without prejudice,” which means it could file another complaint in the future. The motion didn’t give a reason.

“We’re happy that the stress is gone, even though they can sue us again because of the way they dismissed it,” said Mark Bassler, 40, a former Belleville firefighter and father of two children, ages 2 and 7.

“But their policy was illegal, and there was no reason for them to drop (the lawsuit) at this time unless they knew they were going to lose and have to pay our legal fees.”

Those fees total $53,000, Mark Bassler said.

The Orchards is a subdivision with an 18-hole golf course off Green Mount Road in Belleville. Its HOA has a three-member volunteer board that approves or denies improvement projects affecting home exteriors and yards.

The association’s attorney, Mike Wagner, of Clayborne & Wagner in Belleville, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit this week.

Natalie Stinson, of Pinnacle HOA Management, who managed The Orchards HOA during most of the litigation, declined comment. She referred questions to Community Property Management in O’Fallon, which took over the HOA’s day-to-day management several months ago. Its manager couldn’t immediately be reached.

Nearly two years of litigation

The Orchards HOA filed the lawsuit in December 2020. It argued that the Basslers violated subdivision rules that allow solar panels only on rear-facing roofs for aesthetic reasons and went ahead with installation after the board rejected their plan.

“(The Illinois Homeowners’ Energy Police Statement Act) permits an HOA to determine the specific location where a solar energy system may be installed on the roof within an orientation to the south or within 45 degrees east or west of due south provided that the determination does not impair the effective operation of the solar energy system,” the complaint stated.

The Basslers maintained that the 2011 act protected their right to put solar panels wherever they were needed to be fully efficient, allowing them to save money on electricity costs and help the environment.

Peoria attorney John Albers, a solar-energy specialist, originally represented the couple. After he left his firm for another job, the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center in St. Louis took over in January 2022.

The nonprofit center provides free legal services to individuals and organizations that seek to protect the environment and public health, according to attorney Bruce Morrison.

Morrison called The Orchards HOA’s motion to dismiss last month “bittersweet.”

“Our board decided we would take the case and represent the Basslers for the sake of setting precedent in Illinois that the HOA was unlawfully hindering the installation of a solar system,” he said. “So as a law center, we’re disappointed that we’re not in there butting heads.”

The Orchards HOA was the first homeowners association in Illinois to sue residents over solar panels, according to Albers.

100% of electricity produced

The Basslers bought their two-story home with white siding and a brick facade on Fairway Drive in March 2020. Mark, then a Belleville firefighter, needed to live in the city because of department residency requirements, and the couple wanted their kids to to attend school in the Mascoutah district, where Jennifer teaches.

The Orchards fit the bill.

EFS Energy in St. Louis installed the Basslers’ solar system in December 2020. It consists of 23 rooftop solar panels in back (west) and 12 in front (east).

EFS owner Paul McKnight submitted an affidavit supporting the couple’s motion to dismiss The Orchards HOA lawsuit in 2021. St. Clair County Circuit Court Associate Judge Julie Katz denied the motion.

“If the Basslers are only able to install panels on the rear roof of their home, the effectiveness of their solar energy system will drop by approximately 35 percent,” McKnight wrote in his affidavit.

The Basslers spent about $40,000 to purchase and install the solar system and recouped all but about $15,000 through grants, rebates and other government incentives, according to Mark Bassler.

The solar panels now provide 100% of their electricity, he said. The only cost is a $12 monthly metering fee.

The Basslers are trying to figure out how to deal with their $53,000 debt to the Peoria law firm that first represented them. Mark Bassler was terminated as a Belleville firefighter in May. He said he hadn’t gone back to work since a job-related back injury in February 2021 that required multiple surgeries and other medical care that depleted the couple’s savings.

“People have come up to us and said, ‘Hey, why don’t you start a GoFundMe?’” Mark Bassler said. “I’ve had a rough go with health and the solar lawsuit, and we don’t have the $53,000. But my wife and I both feel there are people in the world who are worse off than us.

“We’re hard-working people. We’re honest people. We’re neighborly, and we want to help our neighborhood. That’s why we didn’t sue (the HOA). We didn’t want to waste the neighborhood’s money.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the fact that a new company, Community Property Management, has taken over management of The Orchards HOA. Also, the lawsuit was dismissed “without prejudice.”