From my experience, most lemon law cases are settled without the need to take the manufacturer to court. Only 5-10 percent of lemon law cases go all the way to trial. The other 90-95 percent are settled either during litigation or before it.
The first question of course is to determine if your vehicle is legally a lemon.
When you consult an attorney, the first thing to decide is whether your situation meets the standards of the applicable warranty laws. In other words, is your car legally a lemon? Continue reading Chapter 12: Litigation (Page-06)
“Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez, you have a strong case.
Would you prefer a refund or a replacement vehicle?”
Selecting an Attorney
The practice of law, like medicine and science, is broad and specialized. You can find an experienced lawyer who specializes in the lemon law through the telephone directory or your local Bar Association.
If you have access to the Internet, there are several services that can help you locate an attorney for your specific needs in your area. These days, many attorneys have their own Web sites. If you do a search for lemon law or lemon lawyers on the Internet, you should find help. Continue reading Chapter 12: Litigation (Page-05)
Arbitrations waste time and money. Consumers cannot grasp the number of different ways arbitrations can go wrong. Even if they win, they rarely get the replacement or refund they deserve.
If your state law does not require you to participate in an informal dispute resolution process, I recommend that you avoid it.
Before Litigation
Once you have decided to pursue your rights under the lemon law, it is important that you seek legal advice as soon as possible. You may think that I am saying this because I am an attorney myself. I am an attorney, but it does not change the fact that an attorney’s assistance can be invaluable, even before filing a lawsuit. Continue reading Chapter 12: Litigation (Page-04)
Consumers are frequently unfamiliar with the law, and with the arbitration process. This can lead to awards in favor of the manufacturer even where the facts are relatively clear. It probably does not help that the manufacturers themselves fund almost all of these so-called independent dispute resolution processes.
Far too often, manufacturers use the dispute resolution process or arbitration as just another step in the gauntlet.
It is an unfortunate fact that courts around the country are badly overloaded. The government, which has to fund the court system, loves the idea of arbitration, because it should save money and court time. This is the viewpoint that led Congress, when creating the Magnuson-Moss Act, to include a method for trying to resolve lemon law disputes informally, before litigation.
Again, Congress did not deprive consumers of access to the courts. Under Magnuson-Moss, you do not have to accept the result of the informal dispute resolution process. You may take further legal action if you feel the result is inadequate or incorrect. Congress just wanted to encourage parties to try to resolve their disputes out of court. Continue reading Chapter 12: Litigation (Page-02)
“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.”
-Abraham Lincoln
Introduction to Litigation
Well, you made it this far. You gave the manufacturer a reasonable opportunity to repair. You survived the gauntlet. You learned about your rights and remedies under the lemon law. You are ready to proceed. What do you do next? Continue reading Chapter 12: Litigation (Page-01)
Recent Comments