Haute Enchilada owners file federal lawsuit against Vistra over Moss Landing fire.

Moss Landing residents Kim and Luis Solano, owners and operators of the Haute Enchilada Café, filed a federal lawsuit today against Vistra, the Dallas-based energy company that owns and operates the battery storage facility that caught fire Jan. 16 and again Feb. 18.

Also named in the complaint are two subsidiaries of South Korea-based LG Energy Solution, which manufactured and installed the batteries that burned in the recent fires.

The Solanos are suing on behalf of themselves and their business, Haute Enchilida Café, which is just over 1,000 yards away from where the fire occurred. 

The exact location of the fire on the Vistra property, which is just east of Highway 1 and north of Dolan Road, is known as Phase 1, which held about 100,000 lithium-ion batteries within a three-story enclosed building that formerly housed a turbine. Phase 1, a 300 megawatt facility, went online in December 2020. The lawsuit states, “Vistra and LG knew that the battery storage method was unsafe,” and equates it to “a chemical and heavy metal powderkeg if one or more battery modules were to fail and catch fire.”

In September 2021, a malfunction in the smoke detection system caused water to be released, creating smoke and, per the lawsuit, damaged seven percent of the batteries in the Phase 1 building, temporarily taking it offline.  

The lawsuit states that Solanos’ property—business, residence and rental properties—were all heavily impacted by the fires, covered in soot and ash. When the business was able to reopen, business was down about 50 percent (Kim Solano announced Feb. 21 that Haute Enchilada is temporarily closing). 

Among the claims in the complaint are that the batteries installed in Phase 1 “were defectively manufactured.” Another is that Vistra knew the equipment was “prone to overheating suddenly, could catch fire, and create a cascading effect…to produce thermal runaway.” The suit claims Vistra was aware of the risks. 

It also claims the Solanos experienced several health problems in the wake of the fire, including sore throat, burning in the lungs, nausea, rashes and other symptoms they didn’t have before the fire. 

The Solanos are being represented by Joseph Cotchett, David Hollenberg and Blair Kittle of Burlingame-based firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, as well as Monterey-based environmental attorney Molly Erickson. 

They are seeking general and compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages “to deter defendants from future misconduct,” attorneys’ fees and costs and medical monitoring. 

A Feb. 28 statement from Vistra regarding the lawsuit reads, "While we are reviewing the lawsuit, our focus remains on the safety of our personnel and the community. Since the start of the fire, air quality monitoring conducted by the US EPA, Monterey Bay Air Resources District, and others has not detected risks to public health at any time.  Additionally, soil and water testing conducted by Cal EPA/Department of Toxic Substances Control, Monterey County, and Santa Cruz County have not detected risks to public water supplies or soil in the community."

The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California.

This story will be updated with a statement from LG Energy Solution if one is provided.