Lemon Law for California

At the federal level, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act applies. Each state has established “lemon law” statutes, generally enforced through the consumer protection division of the Attorney General’s office.

When dealing with lemon laws, the basic questions that an Attorney needs to have answered are:

• Whether you bought the vehicle new or used

• When it was purchased

• The year, model, and manufacturer

• The defect(s) that you are complaining of

• How many repair attempts you’ve attempted on the vehicle

In case you have a problem, which you to your mind is covered by a warranty or service contract, follow the instructions to get service. If there’s still a dispute arising, there are several things you can do:

• Talk with the salesperson or, if necessary, the owner of the dealership. Many problems can be resolved at this level. However, if you believe you’re entitled to service, but the dealer disagrees, you can do other things.

• If your warranty is backed by a car manufacturer, you should contact the local representative of the manufacturer. The local or zone representative is authorized to adjust and decide about warranty service and repairs to satisfy customers. Some manufacturers also are willing to repair certain problems in specific models for free, even if the manufacturer’s warranty does not cover the problem. Ask the manufacturer’s zone representative or the service department of a franchised dealership that sells your car model whether there is such a policy.

• Contact your local Better Business Bureau, state Attorney General, or the Department of Motor Vehicles. You also might consider using a dispute resolution organization to arbitrate your disagreement if you and the dealer are willing. This may be a required first step before you can sue the dealer or manufacturer. Check your warranty to see if this is the case. 

In case bought your car from a franchised dealer, you may be able to seek mediation through the Automotive Consumer Action Program (”AUTOCAP”), a dispute resolution program coordinated nationally by the National Automobile Dealers Association and sponsored through state and local dealer associations in many cities. 

Check with the dealer association in your area to see if they operate a mediation program.

If none of these steps is successful, small claims court is an option. Here, you can resolve disputes involving small amounts of money, often without an attorney. The clerk of your local small claims court can tell you how to file a suit and what the dollar limit is in your state.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act also may be helpful. Under this federal law, you can sue based on breach of express warranties, implied warranties, or a service contract. If successful, consumers can recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and other court costs. A lawyer can advise you if this law applies.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in a nutshell is the federal law that governs and monitors consumer product warranties. It was passed by Congress in 1975, and sets forth requirements and guidelines for manufacturers and sellers of consumer products to provide their customers with detailed information about their warranty coverage.
It’s also worth mentioning that this Act is designed to effect both the rights of consumers and the obligations of warrantors that are offering written warranties.
So, with that said here’s the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in all it’s glory.

To understand the Act, it is probably best that the consumer be aware of Congress’ intentions when they first passed it.
First of all, Congress wanted to make sure that consumers could get complete information about warranty terms and conditions up front and in their truest form. By providing people with a way of learning what warranty coverage is offered on a product before they buy, the Act actually gives them a way to know exactly what they should expect if something goes wrong, and it also goes a long way in increasing customer satisfaction.

Secondly, Congress wanted to make sure that people could compare warranty coverages before buying their cars because in doing this, consumers can choose a product that has the best combination of price, features, and warranty coverage to meet their individual needs.

Thirdly, Congress wanted to promote competition on the basis of warranty coverage alone. By making sure that consumers can get warranty information, the Act has practically forced dealers and manufacturers into hosting sales promotions on the basis of warranty coverage and this competition among companies has made it much easier for consumers to seek various levels of warranty coverage. (Are you seeing a trend yet?)
Finally, Congress wanted to strengthen the pre-existing incentives for companies to perform their warranty obligations in a timely and efficient manner so that it would be easier to resolve any consumer disputes with a minimum of delay and expense.

Because of this, the Act makes it easier for consumers to seek a private solution for any breach of warranty in the courts, but it also creates a foundation for companies to set up good operating procedures for resolving disputes inexpensively and informally, without litigation.

Well, here’s a great answer I found online that describes it better than I could.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a Federal Law that protects the buyer of any product which costs more than $25 and comes with an express written warranty. This law applies to any product that you buy that does not perform as it should.

The Magnuson-Moss Act gives consumers considerable rights in dealing with manufacturers of lemon cars. A car buyer is guaranteed that certain minimum requirements of warranties must be met, and provides for disclosure of warranties before purchase.

Regarding “lemon cars“, this law greatly affects the rights of car buyers. For any product which has a written warranty if any part of the product, or the product itself is considered defective, the warrantor must permit the buyer the choice of either a refund or replacement of the product.

Law firms have argued successfully to juries that the lemon manufacturers should be given three attempts to fix the defect. Continued attempts to repair beyond the initial three should not be allowed. This is called the “three strikes and you’re out” principle.

A consumer may pursue legal action in any court of general jurisdiction in the United States to enforce his rights under the Magnuson-Moss Law. Attorney’s fees based on actual time spent will be covered if the consumer does prevail.

Due to this particular condition, there is quite a bit of financial pressure on the manufacturer to settle consumers disputes before going to court, as this would keep their expenses down.

So, here are some things that you’ll need to consider when you’re shopping around for a good attorney to handle your lemon law case. For instance, you will want to get a consultation to figure out exactly what type of lemon case you have. After that, you can follow the tips I’m listing below to help you to find the right lemon law attorney to handle your case.

EXPERIENCE
You should make sure that the firm or lawyer that you choose has experience in handling your specific type of case. The law has become very specialized in lemon cases and you will need a law firm that is not new to this area. Otherwise they may not know how to get the best results for you. However, you should be wary of any law firms which use the term “experts” or “specialists” because they’re not legally allowed to use those terms.

NUMBER OF ATTORNEYS
You should also ask how many lawyers in that firm are not only licensed in your state, but how many of those lawyers can actually handle your lemon law or other type of case. Just like in any other type of company, people get sick or leave for whatever reason. Since your case will likely take many months to resolve, you want to be sure there is another attorney in the firm who can take over if your own lawyer can’t continue for any reason.

ATTENTION
You also want to make sure that you can meet your attorney before he or she represents you. Just like a doctor, a lawyer is a professional that you trust a very important part of your life to. Because of this, you should be wary of any firm which will not allow you to meet your attorney or those who give you the run-around. You should always know what is going on in your case.

LOCATION
You should also make sure that your lawyer is at least located in the same State where your case will be handled. In general, lawyers must be licensed in the State in which they are doing their legal work in order to practice. If the lawyer is not located in your state, he/she may have problems effectively representing your interests.
If your lawyer is forced to travel great distances to appear on your behalf, or if he/she is hiring someone else to make any court appearances on their behalf, you should consider whether this will influence his/her judgment when he/she confers with you about any settlement offer made by the opposing side.

REPUTATION
Believe it or not, a lawyer’s reputation is one of the most important things you need to consider when you make a decision. How other lawyers feel about his/her performance and more importantly how former clients feel will give you a good idea what that lawyer can do for you. Most lawyers will freely and willingly give you information about their reputation if asked and some will even provide you with proof of their track records if you request it. Also, if you know someone who has had to deal with a lemon case, you can ask them how their lawyer was with them. All of these things can help you in choosing your next lawyer.

COST
One thing you should consider is the cost of all this. Not all states will allow you to recover the whole amount of the lawyers fees under the state lemon laws, this is why I highly suggest you take the time to research the laws in your state. However, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a federal law that may allow you to recover the cost of hiring a attorney. If your state laws don’t allow recovery of fees, or even if they do, you will still want to be sure that the cost of the lawyer is affordable because there is no guarantee that you will win your case once it gets to court. You need to be sure that you can afford the lawyer that you get. Since some will require a retainer, it is best to ask about this up front. For those that do not, know that you will either have to pay the fees along the way or out of the award at the end.

Now, here’s the thing. If the attorney is any good and confident in their ability to win your case for you, they should be willing to take your case on a contingent fee basis. Which means if they don’t win your case for you it won’t cost you anything. The worst case scenario should be that you have to pay a down payment and make payments along the way. One other thing, make sure that if the fees are on a contingent basis that they are set fees and not a blanket percentage of your eventual award.

Personally, if I had to go thru all this again I’d only choose a confident lemon law lawyer who would take my case on a contingent fee basis. This is my own personal opinion though, you should always be sure to do the research required to know your rights, that way you can make your own decision based on your best interests.

So, now that we’ve covered all that, here are some quick questions that you should ask your lawyer before hiring them or even considering them. Check for quick and concise answers and ask them to put all in writing before you make any final decisions.
1. How many cases like this have you handled before and what was the result of those cases?
2. What are the resources that you and/or your firm have at your disposal?
3. Are you going to try to settle out of court or do you push for court trial?
4. What are any and all of the upfront fees? If there are none, how much of the settlement do you take upon trial end?
5. What type of billing procedures does your firm require, and do I get a detailed report in writing?
6. If you will be itemizing the costs, can I get a detailed and itemized written report of the costs each week?
7. Do you have a working knowledge of lemon laws in my state?

These are just some of the questions that you should ask before hiring your lawyer. You also want to be sure that they can provide you with details on what you have that will make your case for you. You don’t want a lawyer that just wants to make a few bucks, you want proof that you have a case that you can win, otherwise, you will not only be stuck with a car you can’t use, but you might end up having to make payments to a lawyer as well. With that in mind, lets look at…

If your car doesn’t qualify as a lemon under the laws of your state, you may still have recourse through the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

 __________________________________________________ 

[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at www.LemonLawIntel.com ]

As More Drivers Choose to Lease Cars, Courts Are Expanding Federal Warranties

The astronomical price of gasoline hasn’t stopped Americans from hitting the roads. But as rising interest rates get tacked onto the bill, more consumers are opting to lease their cars rather than buy.
Courts are catching up to the trend, adding auto lessees to the list of those protected by federal warranty statutes and expanding the reach of lemon laws on behalf of drivers who ended up with defective cars.
The federal lemon law, the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, allows consumers to sue in state courts to enforce car warranties and provides for recovery of attorney fees. Without the act, consumers who get stuck with lemons might still be able to sue for breach of contract, but—unless courts also could award attorney fees—damages would likely be too small for a lawyer to take the case.
The statute applies only to “consumers,” but its inelegant definitions of the term leave room to argue about whether lessees qualify. Some courts—including the well-regarded New York State Court of Appeals—have ruled that lessees aren’t consumers because they haven’t made purchases, which is required to meet one of Magnuson-Moss’ three definitions of consumer.
But the statute also talks about consumers as those entitled to enforce warranties—which supports the more recent interpretation that lessees are consumers. Clearly any person who has leased a new vehicle that comes with a warranty is entitled to enforce that warranty. 
 __________________________________________________ 

[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at www.LemonLawIntel.com ]

Arnold Dempsey bought a new Mercury Grand Marquis from Dimension Ford, Fort Wayne. The recent retiree had researched manufacturers and models and chose the Grand Marquis, one of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury’s flagship cars, based on its reputation for quality and dependability.

Four months after purchasing his new car, Dempsey felt the vehicle begin pulling to the left towards oncoming traffic. In a matter of seconds, the vehicle could literally change lanes and cross the center line unless corrective measures were taken. He took the car back to the Ford dealer. Over a five-month period, four different Ford dealers tried several alignments, numerous brake repairs and replacement of the steering gear box, yet the condition continued.

Dempsey called Ford Customer Assistance, using their 800 number listed in the warranty booklet that came with his car. They told him to go back to another authorized dealer. After seven attempted repairs, Dempsey contacted the “lemon” law firm. After a one-day jury trial in a County Super Court, a judgment was rendered awarding Dempsey a refund for the Grand Marquis, which required Ford Motor Co. to pay him $19,132.46 and pay off the remainder of his loan on the car. The jury found that Ford Motor Co. had violated the “lemon law” and breached its warranty under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

 __________________________________________________ 

[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at www.LemonLawIntel.com ]