By Nichola Groom and Nivedita Balu
(Reuters) - Walmart Inc (N:
WMT) on Tuesday sued Tesla Inc (O:
TSLA), accusing it of "widespread negligence" that led to repeated fires of its solar systems and asking a court to force Tesla to remove solar panels from more than 240 of its U.S. stores.
Solar energy systems installed and maintained by the electric car maker were responsible for fires at seven locations, with dozens showing hazardous problems such as loose wiring and "hot spots" on panels, according to court papers filed in New York State Supreme Court.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit accuses Tesla of having untrained workers putting up shoddy installations and showing "utter incompetence or callousness, or both," court papers said.
The lawsuit is the latest blow to Tesla's struggling solar business, which it acquired through its $2.6 billion purchase of SolarCity in 2016. Quarterly installations have plummeted more than 85 percent since the deal, as Tesla has cut its solar panel sales force and ended a distribution deal with Home Depot Inc (N:
HD).
The fires destroyed significant amounts of store merchandise and required substantial repairs, totaling millions of dollars in losses, Walmart said in the lawsuit.
In addition, inspections of the retailer's other Tesla-owned solar installations "displayed troubling problems that were indicative of widespread negligence," the lawsuit said.
As of November 2018, at least seven Walmart stores, including in Denton, Maryland and Beavercreek, Ohio, had experienced fires due to Tesla's solar systems, according to the lawsuit. One of the fires happened months after the system was de-energized, Walmart said.