Without the lemon law, Mr. and Mrs. Jones were in a David and Goliath contest where all the weapons favored Goliath.
1975: Federal Lemon Law
The great equalizer: courts could compel manufacturers to reimburse attorneys’ fees.
In 1975, Congress enacted the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act. While it was not as effective as California’s Song-Beverly Act, the federal Magnuson-Moss Act did attempt to encourage warrantors to provide better warranties. It also included a provision allowing-but not requiring-courts to award attorneys’ fees to consumers who had to file lawsuits to enforce warranties.
Congress established guidelines for mechanisms to attempt to resolve warranty disputes without litigation. California later added similar guidelines to the Song-Beverly Act, and other states have also followed suit. |
