A recent California Supreme Court decision in the case Morgan v. Ygrene Energy Fund, Inc. 18 Cal. 5th 1061 (2025) has made it much more difficult for property owners wronged by PACE administrators, solicitors, and/or solicitor agents to seek relief in court. Under Morgan, property owners are required, for each property tax payment due each year, to pay the assessment first and then seek a refund from the local county tax offices before they are permitted to sue the private companies involved in the wrongful assessments.
There is no set process for seeking a refund: some counties have a process to review refund claims, while others do not. To preserve your right to sue, you may need to file a property tax refund claim: please check with your local tax authority to determine if they will accept your claim and the process for submitting it. Document your attempt to file a request for a refund in writing.
The full opinion is available on the California Courts website.