Complaint,Petition: VIVINT, INC. ET AL VS SOLAR PROS LLC ET AL

On March 29, 2024 a Complaint,Petition was filed involving a dispute between Smart Home Pros, Inc., Vivint, Inc., Vivint Smart Home, Inc., and Brennan, Liam, Hernandez, Samuel, Howard, Lawrence, Madden, Ryan, Niger, Joseph, Niger, Richard, Niger, Rocky, Rovayo, Andrea, Solar Pros Llc, for Contract & Indebtedness in the District Court of Miami-Dade County.

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Filing # 195121852 E-Filed 03/29/2024 05:30:59 PM

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 11TH
JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA

COMPLEX BUSINESS LITIGATION
DIVISION

VIVINT, INC., a Utah corporation; VIVINT
SMART HOME, INC., a Delaware
corporation; and SMART HOME PROS, Case No.
INC., a Utah corporation,

Plaintiffs,

SOLAR PROS LLC, a Delaware company;
RYAN MADDEN; ROCKY NIGER;
LAWRENCE HOWARD; RICHARD
NIGER; JOSEPH NIGER; LIAM
BRENNAN; SAMUEL HERNANDEZ; and
ANDREA ROVAYO,

Defendants.

COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs Vivint, Inc., Vivint Smart Home, Inc., and Smart Home Pros, Inc. (collectively,

“Vivint”) hereby file this action against Defendants Solar Pros LLC (“Solar Pros”) and Ryan

Madden, Rocky Niger, Lawrence Howard, Richard Niger, Joseph Niger, Liam Brennan, Samuel

Hernandez, and Andrea Rovayo (collectively, the “ Individual Defendants,” and, with Solar Pros,

“Defendants”), and allege as follows.

NATURE OF THE ACTION

1 This is an action to stop a corporate raid orchestrated by Defendant Solar Pros to

unlawfully steal Vivint’s sales representatives, to usurp Vivint’s direct-to-home solar panel sales

business, and to damage Vivint’s ability to compete in the solar space.
2. With the assistance of the Individual Defendants—all former managers within

Vivint’s salesforce—Solar Pros executed a mass raid of over sixty Vivint sales representatives.

Sales representatives are the lifeblood of direct-to-home solar sales, making this a blatant attempt

to gut Vivint’s ability to compete.

3 Defendants’ efforts to cripple Vivint’s business in Florida by raiding its salesforce

are intentional, unlawful, and ongoing. Defendants have gone so far as to publicly taunt Vivint

about their ongoing breaches. Defendant Ryan Madden, for instance, recently posted an

Instagram story boasting about the success of his sales region at Solar Pros and threatening:

“Your reps will be here soon.” Solar Pros, for its part, has made light of its raid, posting a story

on its Instagram account purporting to show the futility of Vivint “trying to stop their sales org

from coming to” Solar Pros, complete with a cry-laughing emoji (@). (capitalization removed).

4 Defendants’ raid is multifaceted. First, Solar Pros recruited Madden, who

thereafter solicited Rocky Niger. Both Madden and Niger were high-level managers at Vivint.

Using their influence as sales leaders at Vivint, Madden and Niger helped Solar Pros solicit

additional sales managers and sales representatives, including those within their downlines, i.e.,

the group of lower-level sales leaders and sales representatives that they managed. Solar Pros

then flew many of these Vivint sales leaders out to meet with high-level leadership at Solar Pros,

including Tyler Jackson, the President of Sales at Solar Pros.

5 Having successfully solicited a number of high-level sales leaders from Vivint,

Solar Pros continued its corporate raid through a sales “blitz,” i.e., an organized door-to-door

sales event in which a sales team travels to a single location for a concentrated multi-week sales

effort. Defendants Madden and Rocky Niger used their positions as sales leaders at Vivint to

organize a blitz for a group of dozens of sales representatives. Although advertised as a blitz to
sell for Vivint, on the eve of the blitz, the attendees were informed by Madden and Niger that

they were leaving Vivint and that the blitz was actually a sales blitz for Solar Pros.

6 When the attendees arrived, they were instructed to block the phone numbers of

Vivint’s regional managers and to turn off their devices. They were then presented with a formal

slideshow presentation filled with falsehoods and disparagement of Vivint and its sales leaders.

Madden and Niger then attempted to recruit the sales representatives to Solar Pros and instructed

them to sell for Solar Pros, not Vivint, while on the blitz. Some of these Vivint sales

representatives were still wearing their Vivint attire.

7 Defendants Madden and Rocky Niger continued their solicitation efforts, setting

up multiple lunches that, unbeknownst to the Vivint sales representatives who were agreeing to

meet with them, were actually Solar Pros recruitment meetings, where Madden and Niger

showed a presentation disparaging Vivint and soliciting sales representatives to join Solar Pros.

8 Solar Pros is making a concerted effort not only to poach key Vivint sales leaders,

but also to use their successful recruitment of sales leaders to recruit more junior sales

representatives who report to those sales leaders within their downlines. Solar Pros has offered

lucrative bonuses to sales leaders to incentivize them to recruit their downlines to Solar Pros. As

a result, Solar Pros has stolen major portions of Vivint’s salesforce wholesale, from senior

managers down to entry-level sales representatives. For instance, nearly twenty sales

representatives from Rocky Niger’s downline are known to have left Vivint for Solar Pros.

9 Solar Pros and the Individual Defendants have relied heavily on social media,

both to overtly solicit additional Vivint sales representatives and to sell Vivint sales

representatives on the idea that they will make more sales, and make correspondingly higher

commissions, selling for Solar Pros than they could selling for Vivint.
10. For instance, Defendant Rocky Niger has openly boasted about his work for Solar

Pros and recruited for Solar Pros on his Instagram account, despite being subject to non-compete

and non-solicitation restrictions with Vivint. Among other things, Niger re-posted an Instagram

story boasting of “$100k in a week and . . . just getting started” with an overt solicitation stating:

“We are hiring if you wanna see how you can get on this train” and instructing representatives to

“DM here,” tagging Solar Pros’, Madden’s, and Niger’s Instagram accounts. Niger similarly re-

posted an Instagram story boasting that his team generated $1.3 million in commissions in just

nine days with another message that Solar Pros is hiring. Niger’s Instagram stories are full of

similarly improper solicitations and detailed descriptions of the commissions purportedly earned

by Vivint sales representatives after joining Solar Pros.

11. The other Individual Defendants have similarly used social media to solicit sales

representatives and boast about the high commissions at Solar Pros. For instance, Defendant

Lawrence Howard shared an Instagram story boasting “100+ accts week 2 in the biz” with the

message: “INTERESTED? DM ME.” Defendant Liam Brennan similarly shared Instagram

stories inviting sales representatives to “Come be apart [sic] of greatness!” and detailing an

upcoming blitz trip with the note “OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW.” To this,

Brennan added the message: “Hmu [hit me up] to run it up lady & gentssss”’—an overt

solicitation for sales representatives to contact Brennan if they wanted to participate in the Solar

Pros blitz trip.

12. Despite these numerous social media posts boasting high sales and huge

commissions, the Individual Defendants have been unable to prove these advertised sales and

commissions are legitimate, and sales representatives that Defendants have solicited have
admitted that Solar Pros told them to post about sales that had, in reality, already fallen through

and commissions that they would never actually earn.

13. These solicitation efforts have resulted in over sixty sales representatives moving

from Vivint to Solar Pros, despite having already signed employment agreements with Vivint for

the 2023-2024 sales season. Most of these sales representatives never formally resigned from

Vivint or gave any notice that they are now selling for Solar Pros. Rather, Vivint learned about

their departures primarily from social media.

14. Defendants’ actions violate numerous contractual and common law duties owed

by the Individual Defendants and constitute tortious interference and unfair competition. As

Solar Pros knows (and as is industry standard), every Vivint sales representative was subject to

enforceable restrictive covenants, including non-compete and/or non-solicitation restrictions.

Moreover, each of the Individual Defendants owed a common law duty of loyalty not to solicit

Vivint sales representatives to work for a competitor, not to compete against Vivint, and not to

otherwise take disloyal actions against Vivint. But to entice the breaches, Solar Pros promised

greater compensation and funds to cover the legal fees to fight the inevitable lawsuit that would

ensue.

15. Vivint brings this action seeking permanent injunctive relief to halt Defendants’

ongoing unlawful conduct and to obtain damages for those quantifiable injuries Vivint has

suffered.

PARTIES

16. Plaintiff Vivint, Inc. is a Utah corporation, and its principal place of business is

4931 North 300 West, Provo, Utah 84604.
17. Plaintiff Vivint Smart Home, Inc. is a Delaware corporation, and its principal

place of business is 4931 North 300 West, Provo, Utah 84604.

18. Plaintiff Smart Home Pros, Inc. (“SHP”) is a Utah corporation, and its principal

place of business is 4931 North 300 West, Provo, Utah 84604. SHP is an affiliate of Vivint, Inc.

and Vivint Smart Home, Inc.

19. Defendant Solar Pros is a Delaware company with its principal place of business

in Arizona.

20. Defendant Ryan Madden is an individual who resides in Tampa, Florida. Ryan

Madden began working for Vivint in 2013. In 2017, Madden resigned from Vivint. He returned

to Vivint about a year later and continued to work as a Sales Manager until resigning again in

January 2023. He signed his last employment contract with Vivint for the 2022-2023 sales

season on October 21, 2022. This employment contract included a non-solicitation provision.

See infra § 99. For the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 sales seasons, Madden was paid over

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21. Defendant Rocky Niger! is an individual who resides in Tampa, Florida. Niger

began working for Vivint in 2015. At the time of his departure, Niger was a Sales Manager and

one of Vivint’s highest earners at the manager level. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 sales

seasons, Niger was paid over SJ. On October 3, 2023, Niger signed an employment

contract with Vivint for the 2023-2024 sales season. This employment contract included a non-

solicitation provision. See infra {99. In or around November 2023, Niger left Vivint and started

selling for Solar Pros.

1 Rocky, Richard, and Joseph Niger are all siblings and are each defendants in this action.
22. Defendant Lawrence Howard is an individual who resides in Tampa, Florida.

Howard began working for Vivint in 2020. At the time of his departure, Howard was a Sales

Manager. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 sales seasons, Howard was paid over Sq

On October 2, 2023, Howard signed an employment contract with Vivint for the 2023-2024

sales season. This employment contract included a non-solicitation provision. See infra § 99. In

or around December 2023, Howard left Vivint and started selling for Solar Pros.

23. Defendant Richard Niger is an individual who resides in Valrico, Florida. Niger

began working for Vivint in 2015. At the time of his departure, Niger was a Sales Manager. For

the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 sales seasons, Niger was paid over $M]. On September 2,

2023, Niger signed an employment contract with Vivint for the 2023-2024 sales season. This

employment contract included a non-solicitation provision. See infra J 99. In or around

December 2023, Niger left Vivint and started selling for Solar Pros.

24. Defendant Joseph Niger is an individual who resides in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Niger began working for Vivint in 2016. At the time of his departure, Niger was a Sales

Manager. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 sales seasons, Niger was paid over SJ. On

September 2, 2023, Niger signed an employment contract with Vivint for the 2023-2024 sales

season. This employment contract included a non-solicitation provision. See infra § 99. In or

around December 2023, Niger left Vivint and started selling for Solar Pros.

25. Defendant Liam Brennan is an individual who resides in Seminole, Florida.

Brennan began working for Vivint in 2019. At the time of his departure, Brennan was a Sales

Manager. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 sales seasons, Brennan was paid over Sq

On October 6, 2023, Brennan signed an employment contract with Vivint for the 2023-2024
sales season. This employment contract included a non-solicitation provision. See infra § 99. In

or around December 2023, Brennan left Vivint and started selling for Solar Pros.

26. Defendant Samuel Hernandez is an individual who resides in Middletown,

Delaware. Hernandez began working for Vivint in 2020. At the time of his departure,

Hernandez was a Sales Manager. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 sales seasons, Hernandez

was paid nearly $M. On September 2, 2023, Hernandez signed an employment contract

with Vivint for the 2023-2024 sales season. This employment contract included a non-

solicitation provision. See infra § 99. In or around December 2023, Hernandez left Vivint and

started selling for Solar Pros.

27. Defendant Andrea Rovayo is an individual who resides in Miami, Florida.

Rovayo began working for Vivint in 2017. At the time of her departure, Rovayo was a Sales

Manager. For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 sales seasons, Rovayo was paid over Sq

On September 20, 2023, Rovayo signed an employment contract with Vivint for the 2023-2024

sales season. This employment contract included a non-solicitation provision. See infra § 99. In

or around January 2024, Rovayo left Vivint and started selling for Solar Pros.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

28. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action because the amount in

controversy exceeds $750,000, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees.

29. Jurisdiction is proper in Florida because (a) Ryan Madden, Rocky Niger,

Lawrence Howard, Richard Niger, Joseph Niger, Liam Brennan, and Andrea Rovayo all reside

in Florida, (b) all of the Individual Defendants were based in Florida during their employment

with Vivint and thus engaged in substantial and not isolated activity within Florida, (c) all of the

Individual Defendants breached their employment contracts with Vivint in Florida by failing to
perform acts required by their employment contracts to be performed in Florida, (d) Solar Pros

engaged in substantial and not isolated activity within Florida, (e) Solar Pros engaged in business

within Florida giving rise to the causes of action herein, (f) the unlawful and tortious acts giving

rise to the causes of action herein, including the unlawful acts committed by Solar Pros, occurred

in Florida, and (g) damages arising from Solar Pros and the Individual Defendants’ acts were

sustained in Florida. In addition, Solar Pros is registered to conduct business in Florida, and has

conducted such business in Florida, thereby invoking the benefits and protections of Florida’s

laws.

30. Venue is proper in Miami-Dade County pursuant to Sections 47.011, 47.021,

47.041, and 47.051 of the Florida Statutes because (a) an Individual Defendant, Andrea Rovayo,

resides in this County and there is no singular County where all Defendants reside, (b) Solar Pros

has agents and/or representatives in Miami-Dade County, and (c) the causes of action at issue

arose in Miami-Dade County.

31. This case is properly assigned to the Complex Business Litigation Division of the

Eleventh Judicial Circuit given the large number of parties involved in this action, the

employment-related agreements and relevant terms and conditions at issue, and because Vivint

seeks, among other things, injunctive relief to preclude the Individual Defendants from

continuing to breach their contractual and fiduciary obligations to Vivint and to prevent Solar

Pros from tortiously interfering with Vivint’s rights under those agreements. For purposes of the

Complex Business Litigation Division, the amount in controversy exceeds $750,000, exclusive

of interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND

32. Established in 1999, Vivint is a leading seller of smart home, security, and solar

installation products and serves roughly two million subscribers. Vivint operates across the

United States, including in Florida, where it has physical offices (including in Miami) and where

many of its sales representatives are based.

33. Vivint offers its customers a range of Vivint “Smart Home” products and

services, such as smart cameras, locks, lights, thermostats, garage door controls, systems to track

energy use and efficiency, and a host of safety and security sensors. Vivint’s focus is on

providing its customers with an integrated smart home platform and operating system that

optimizes operations across customers’ devices.

34. Vivint also offers, through its relationships with third-party installers, a variety of

residential solar-energy products and services, such as energy-generating photovoltaic panels,

solar batteries to store that energy, and the technology needed to convert a customer’s solar

energy into usable power.

35. Solar Pros operates in the same solar-energy market as Vivint and directly

competes with Vivint. Both market and sell residential solar, battery storage, and energy

services throughout the United States, including in many of the same regional markets, and cater

to the same customer base.

36. Both Vivint’s and Solar Pros’ solar sales operations include substantial door-to-

door operations. The success of door-to-door sales hinges on the size and strength of a

company’s salesforce, making sales representatives—the primary point of contact between

customers and the company—the lifeblood of the door-to-door sales business. While the

Individual Defendants are all veteran sales representatives who worked at Vivint for many years,

10
most sales representatives only stay for a few years and do not reach the Individual Defendants’

level of seniority. Vivint expends significant time and resources training its sales

representatives, particularly its veteran sales leaders like the Individual Defendants. Vivint’s

sales organization operates as a collection of teams, referred to as downlines, with sales leaders

like the Individual Defendants managing downlines, which can include hundreds of sales

representatives. While the entire salesforce is responsible for making sales, sales leaders like the

Individual Defendants have unique responsibilities, including overseeing and managing their

downlines. There is a sense of loyalty within these teams, particularly from the downline to their

manager and more senior leadership.

37. In March 2023, Vivint was acquired by NRG Energy, Inc.

I Solar Pros’ Scheme to Raid Vivint’s Salesforce

38. In 2023, Solar Pros began to implement a scheme to raid Vivint’s salesforce by

soliciting high-level sales managers and sales representatives. To date, Solar Pros, with active

assistance of the Individual Defendants, has poached over sixty of Vivint’s sales representatives,

including many members of Vivint’s sales leadership.

39. Solar Pros’ raid began with its recruitment of Ryan Madden. After moving to

Solar Pros, Madden helped Solar Pros successfully solicit Rocky Niger. Niger joined Vivint in

2015 after being recruited by Madden and, thereafter, worked for Vivint as part of Madden’s

downline. Solar Pros paid Niger $3 million in bonuses plus equity in Solar Pros to leave Vivint

for Solar Pros (which he split with Madden). Solar Pros also committed to covering legal fees

for any litigation resulting from his move to Solar Pros, demonstrating Solar Pros’ knowledge

that Vivint’s sales representatives (including Niger) were subject to restrictive covenants

precluding them from competing against Vivint and/or soliciting Vivint sales representatives.

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40. Following Solar Pros’ successful solicitation of Madden and Rocky Niger, both

high-level sales managers at Vivint, Solar Pros continued its solicitation of Vivint’s salesforce by

targeting other members of Vivint’s core sales leadership, knowing that the successful

solicitation of a sales leader would facilitate an easier solicitation of that sales leader’s downline.

41. Madden and Rocky Niger helped Solar Pros target Vivint’s sales leadership, who

Solar Pros then flew out to Texas and Arizona to meet with high-level leadership at Solar Pros,

including Tyler Jackson, the President of Sales.

42. Following these initial solicitations, Solar Pros—with the help of Ryan Madden,

Rocky Niger, and other Vivint sales representatives who had been solicited—continued its raid,

using the pretense of a Vivint sales “blitz” to lure current Vivint sales representatives to Solar

Pros. A “blitz” is a common event in the sales industry, during which members of a sales team

travel to a particular location to sell door-to-door for a discrete period of time. Blitzes are

regularly planned at Vivint prior to the start of the main summer sales season, which spans from

April through September.

43. Under the pretense of a Vivint sales blitz, Solar Pros, Madden, and Rocky Niger

arranged for Vivint sales representatives to travel to Port Charlotte, Florida on or around

December 11, 2023. In reality, this purported sales blitz was actually a coordinated recruitment

event orchestrated by Solar Pros, Madden, and Niger, designed to solicit Vivint sales

representatives to join Solar Pros. The expenses for this blitz were paid for by Madden and

Niger.

44. Most of the Vivint sales representatives invited to the blitz were not informed of

Solar Pros’ involvement or that the blitz was actually a recruitment event until a day or two

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before they were scheduled to start the blitz. Some sales representatives were not informed until

after they were already on their way to the blitz.

45. After successfully executing this bait-and-switch and luring the Vivint sales

representatives to Port Charlotte, Solar Pros, Madden, and Rocky Niger, among others,

proceeded to solicit the Vivint sales representatives to join Solar Pros and prepared them to sell

for Solar Pros, rather than Vivint, while on the blitz. Meanwhile, many of the Vivint sales

representatives in attendance were in their Vivint sales uniforms, with their Vivint-issued iPads,

as they had been prepared to go door-to-door to sell for Vivint.

46. In making their pitch, Solar Pros and Madden and Rocky Niger disparaged Vivint,

making false allegations about Vivint’s business and merger with NRG, including through the

use of a full slideshow presentation disparaging Vivint and encouraging a switch to Solar Pros.

This presentation falsely reported that Vivint was going downhill, that Vivint wanted to get rid of

door-to-door sales, and that, accordingly, sales representatives should move to Solar Pros

because their jobs at Vivint were in jeopardy. The presentation also disparaged high-level Vivint

sales leaders. The sales representatives were also falsely told that Vivint did not pay sales

representatives their full commissions.

47. In an attempt to conceal these solicitations from Vivint, the Vivint sales

representatives in attendance were instructed to block the phone numbers of Vivint’s regional

managers. Attendees were also cautioned against sharing their location, which could have

prompted a visit from Vivint senior management when they became unable to get into contact

with the attendees. The sales representatives were further instructed to turn off their Vivint-

issued iPads and sign out of Street Genie, a proprietary Vivint sales tool. This instruction was

also intended to hide the sales representatives’ location and activities from Vivint.

13
48. The sales representatives were then pushed to sign up for the sales tools used by

Solar Pros’ sales representatives so they could start selling for Solar Pros on the blitz.

49. The bait-and-switch was a success. Many of the Vivint sales representatives who

showed up for the blitz—despite having already signed employment agreements to sell for

Vivint for the 2023-2024 sales year—agreed to sell for Solar Pros on that trip and made sales for

Solar Pros.

50. Solar Pros’ and the Individual Defendants’ solicitation efforts were not confined

to this sales blitz. In Mid-December 2023, a Vivint sales leader who had already signed an

employment agreement for the 2023-2024 sales season was invited to lunch in Tampa, Florida

by Rocky Niger. Unbeknownst to this sales leader, when he showed up to lunch with Niger,

Madden was there and it became immediately clear that Niger and Madden intended this to be a

recruitment meeting, in an overt attempt to solicit both him and his downline. The sales leader

was shown the same presentation used at the blitz, see supra 4 46, presented on a laptop brought

to the lunch by Madden. Defendants’ attempted solicitation of this sales leader was

unsuccessful. Other Vivint sales representatives have been lured into similar meetings by the

Individual Defendants, where they have also been pushed to join Solar Pros.

51. The Individual Defendants have also flown sales representatives out to Las Vegas,

Nevada to meet with executives from Solar Pros and to further their solicitation efforts.

52. Solar Pros and the Individual Defendants are also utilizing social media to reach

Vivint sales representatives and solicit them to join Solar Pros. For example, social media posts

from the Individual Defendants repeatedly brag about the number of sales former Vivint sales

representatives have made and commissions they have brought in while selling for Solar Pros,

14
and simultaneously advertise that Solar Pros is hiring, inviting others to “[c]ome be apart [sic] of

greatness!” and to “DM” (direct message) them for hiring. See infra {§ 72, 74, 78, 80.

53. One of the solicitation tactics being used in these social media posts is the

promotion of unsupported claims of huge sales and high earnings in an attempt to persuade

Vivint sales representatives to leave for Solar Pros. See infra §§ 72, 74, 78, 80, 86. These
claimed sales and corresponding earnings are grossly overstated, including because they do not

account for the fact that a substantial percentage of solar sales do not ultimately get completed

because the customer backs out before installation. Regardless of whether sales representatives

have actually earned anything yet, newly-solicited sales representatives are being instructed by

Solar Pros to post claims of successful sales and high earnings to their social media platforms to

further Solar Pros’ solicitation efforts.

54. For instance, one sales representative who Solar Pros solicited from Vivint was

instructed to post on Instagram that she made $14,000 during her first week selling for Solar

Pros. The sales representative later privately reported that the account she had been referencing

was cancelled, and she would not earn anything based on that reported “sale.”

55. This is yet another dishonest tactic being used by Solar Pros and the Individual

Defendants to solicit Vivint’s salesforce and encourage Vivint’s sales representatives to breach

their contractual and fiduciary obligations to Vivint. In fact, the Individual Defendants have

been unable to offer any proof of these claimed earnings when prompted during their attempted

recruitment of Vivint sales representatives.

56. Solar Pros is also advertising that certain Vivint sales representatives are leaving

for Solar Pros when in fact those sales representatives remain with Vivint and have not made a

commitment to join Solar Pros.

15
57. In all, Vivint has identified over sixty sales representatives who have left Vivint

and are now working for Solar Pros. The majority of these sales representatives never formally

resigned or gave Vivint notice of their departure. Rather, Vivint has learned that they are now

working for Solar Pros predominantly through the dozens of social media posts from the

Individual Defendants, and others, promoting Solar Pros.

58. For instance, Rocky Niger posted an Instagram post featuring former Vivint sales

representatives Austin Chambers (@chambersaustinblake) and Chris Ahrens (@yepchrisahrens)

selling for Solar Pros. Similarly, Niger shared an Instagram post listing the “TOP CLOSERS”

for Solar Pros on or around January 12, 2024 with the message “[t]he boys are up!!,” including

Chris Ahrens, Hunter Holland, Martin Makowski, and Maxwell Joos—all former Vivint sales

representatives.

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59. These solicitations are ongoing. Social media continues to be heavily utilized by

the Individual Defendants. For instance, Rocky Niger recently shared an Instagram story

advertising $40,000 in purported commission with the message: “If you’re interested in a new

16
job lmk!” Additionally, Madden posted on Instagram advertising the success of his sales region

at Solar Pros and stating: “Your reps will be here soon.”

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60. When it conspired with the Individual Defendants to solicit Vivint’s sales

representatives, Solar Pros was aware of the restrictive covenants such sales representatives were

bound by. Not only are such restrictive covenants standard within the sales industry, but Solar

Pros has been sued for a corporate raid involving claimed breaches of such restrictive covenants

by another company within the industry as recently as last year.

17
61. Despite this, Solar Pros has made light of its raid, posting an image on Instagram

purporting to show the futility of Vivint “trying to stop their sales org from coming to” Solar

Pros, complete with a cry-laughing emoji (@). (capitalization removed).

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I. The Individual Defendants’ Participation in the Solicitation

62. As detailed below, each of the Individual Defendants participated in Solar Pros’

solicitation in violation of the non-solicitation covenants in their respective employment

agreements. These solicitations began after many of the Individual Defendants had already

signed their Vivint employment agreements for the 2023-2024 sales season. The Individual

Defendants began soliciting Vivint sales representatives to join Solar Pros while they were still

employed by and selling for Vivint.

63. The Individual Defendants took these actions at the instruction of Solar Pros,

which, after soliciting each of the Individual Defendants, instructed each of the Individual

Defendants to solicit other Vivint sales representatives, including other managers and sales

representatives within each of their respective downlines. Solar Pros incentivized participation

18
in these solicitation efforts by offering bonuses to managers who brought sales representatives

within their downline over to Solar Pros.

64. The Individual Defendants are currently working for Solar Pros in direct-to-home

sales and continue to solicit Vivint sales representatives to terminate their employment with

Vivint and to sell for Solar Pros instead.

A Defendant Ryan Madden

65. Madden actively participated in the solicitation of other Vivint sales

representatives in violation of his contractual obligations to Vivint. Madden led the raiding,

including by (a) recruiting Rocky Niger in or around November 2023, (b) funding and hosting a

blitz trip to recruit Vivint sales representatives to Solar Pros, (c) recruiting Vivint sales

representatives at private lunches, (d) sharing PowerPoint presentations to persuade Vivint sales

representatives to leave for Solar Pros, (e) coordinating meetings between executives at Solar

Pros and Vivint sales representatives, and (f) promoting switching to Solar Pros on social media.

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66. An Instagram story posted by Madden confirms that Madden recruited Rocky

Niger to Solar Pros in or around November 2023. In the Instagram story, Madden posted a photo

of Rocky Niger captioned “WELCOME TO THE PROS,” which tagged “@thealphapros.”

“@thealphapros” is an Instagram account believed to be managed or controlled by Madden’s

“Alpha” team at Solar Pros.

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67. Madden also orchestrated, and funded, the above-referenced Port Charlotte blitz

and recruitment lunches, where he actively solicited current Vivint sales representatives,

instructed current Vivint sales representatives to sell for Solar Pros, and disparaged NRG, Vivint,

and Vivint sales leaders. See supra §§ 42-50. He also helped solicit Vivint sales leaders by

helping organize a trip to Texas and Arizona, and another trip to Las Vegas, for Vivint sales

leaders to meet with high-level leadership at Solar Pros. See supra §§ 41, 51.

B. Defendant Rocky Niger

68. Nearly twenty sales representatives from Rocky Niger’s downline have left Vivint

for Solar Pros.

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69. Leveraging his managerial role at Vivint, Rocky Niger also led the raiding,

including by (a) funding and hosting a blitz trip to recruit Vivint sales representatives to Solar

Pros, (b) recruiting Vivint sales representatives at private lunches, (c) sharing PowerPoint

presentations to persuade Vivint sales representatives to leave for Solar Pros, (d) coordinating

meetings between executives at Solar Pros and Vivint sales representatives, and (e) promoting

switching to Solar Pros on social media.

70. Rocky Niger orchestrated, and funded, the above-referenced Port Charlotte blitz

and recruitment lunches, where he actively solicited current Vivint sales representatives,

instructed current Vivint sales representatives to sell for Solar Pros, and disparaged NRG, Vivint,

and Vivint sales leaders. See supra §{§ 42-50. He also helped solicit Vivint sales leaders by

helping organize a trip to Texas and Arizona, and another trip to Las Vegas, for Vivint sales

leaders to meet with high-level leadership at Solar Pros. See supra J 41, 51.

71. Over the last several months, Rocky Niger has continued his recruitment efforts

for Solar Pros over social media, despite being subject to non-solicitation restrictions with

Vivint. Many of the Instagram stories posted and shared by Rocky Niger openly solicit sales

representatives to join Solar Pros, while accompanied by reports of purported huge sales and

corresponding high commissions earned by former Vivint sales representatives while selling for

Solar Pros.

72. For instance, Rocky Niger re-posted an Instagram story boasting of “$100k in a

week” with an overt solicitation stating: “We are hiring if you wanna see how you can get on this

train.” This was followed by a note saying “Hiring... DM here” and then immediately tagging

Solar Pros and his and Ryan Madden’s Instagram accounts as the contacts for hiring at Solar

Pros. He also re-posted a “scoreboard” boasting about his team purporting to generate $3.8

21
million in revenue and $1.3 million in commission in only nine days and tagging “@solar_pros.”

Niger added a “WE ARE HIRING!” sign to the post. Further, in an Instagram story, later shared

by Liam Brennan, Niger posted the following solicitation: “WE ARE EMPIRE. Come be apart

[sic] of greatness!” In the same post, Niger claimed that his team had “[c]rushed 100 accounts

Week 2 in the game.”

4) @
ECPSESy pees) ROT R
$100k
in a week and
Wm just getting started.
We are hiring
if you —
wanna
see how you can 1 a aa
get on this train --=2= CT ET ers
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—- <= --
w “
se
wre
”
In 9-days
~
&$3-8MILLIONin
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a
8 Samat nat &S1.3MILLIONin
_Hiring.DM here...

aa
COMMISSION}!
Ssolar.pros Grockyniger
@i_aint_madd @solar.pros
OD serrang 6

22
2. Rocky Niger also advertised upcoming Solar Pros’ sales blitzes, sharing posts

inviting sales representatives to “DM for a spot” and to “DM me to schedule an interview” “[i]f

interested in joining the movement.”

ro Fr
Ds a aa

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IGH a)
ert Selah |

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IT 13)
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a
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VILLA V4h

23
TA. Rocky Niger also promoted the purported successes of former Vivint sales

representatives who moved to Solar Pros. For instance, Rocky Niger shared Instagram stories

from former Vivint sales representatives reporting on their “first week” at Solar Pros. Niger also

shared an Instagram story from former Vivint sales representative Martin Makowski, stating he

was “14Th in the Region!!” for Solar Pros.

So r |
i ee ed ee
a wav
ee

as
a
es
|
peer
~Oe
75. Additionally, as referenced above, see supra J 58, Niger also shared an Instagram

story on Solar Pros’ “TOP CLOSERS,” including Makowski as well as former Vivint sales

representatives Chris Ahrens, Hunter Holland, and Maxwell Joos. Also as referenced above, see

supra § 58, Niger shared the purported sales success from other Vivint sales representatives

during a blitz in Tampa, Florida. These posts also contributed to the narrative of purported high

sales and high commissions at Solar Pros, intended to drive Vivint sales representatives to Solar

Pros.

76. Rocky Niger is also featured in promotional videos shared on Solar Pros’

Instagram account.

24
Cc. Defendant Lawrence Howard

77. Multiple sales representatives within Howard’s downline have left Vivint for

Solar Pros.

78. Howard openly recruited for Solar Pros on his Instagram account

(@large_meetch) in violation of his contractual obligations. For example, he shared a post from

Chris Ahrens—a former Vivint Assistant Sales Manager who had been solicited to join Solar

Pros—similar to a post shared by Rocky Niger, see supra § 72, which boasted “100+ accts week

2 in the biz” with the message: “... INTERESTED? DM ME.” Howard also shared Ahrens’s

post regarding the Solar Pros “scoreboard,” stating: “In 9 days our team generated: $3.8

MILLION in revenue $1.3 MILLION in COMMISSION!!”

cece
Scoreboard
P

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CA44 - Downtown Miami - Judge Walsh, Lisa S Track Judge’s New Case

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Complaint,Petition: VIVINT, INC. ET AL VS SOLAR PROS LLC ET AL

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