201709.05
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California Lemon Law Guide: The Implied Warranty and Time Limits for Claims

Unless sold “As-Is,” all cars come with a warranty of fitness that is implied by law. Was the car frame-damaged or had some other latent defect at the time of sale? The implied warranty protects you. But for how long? Recent case law developments have clarified that, under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, the lemon…

201709.04
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Car Dealers Can’t Use Immigration Status to Deny Equal Protection under California Consumer Protection Laws

Effective January 1, 2018, sleazy car dealers and other bad actor businesses can no longer attack consumers based on their immigration status as a defense to consumer rip-offs or consumer abuse by their business. AB 1690 was just signed in to law by Govenor Brown. The impetus for the bill was a case where a…

201708.18
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Consumer Alert: Forced Unwanted Auto Insurance by Wells Fargo

More than 800,000 people with car loans from Wells Fargo were charged for insurance they did not need!  These extra charges reportedly drove 25,000 cars into repossession and 274,000 into delinquency.  Many members are military service members.  If this happened to you, contact a consumer-protection lawyer immediately! Here is what appears to have happened:  when…

201708.11
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California Lemon Law Guide: The Lemon Law Can Penalize Manufacturers For Failure to Buy Back Cars: Schreidel v. American Honda

In Schreidel v. American Honda, the jury awarded the consumer plaintiff double damages under the Lemon Law.  In that case the jury heard of the consumer’s 6 repair attempts for her clutch where Honda claimed it “could not duplicate” the problem, which the consumer told them was only occasional.  The jury also heard how an…

201708.11
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California Lemon Law Guide: What Is a “Substantial Impairment of Use, Value or Safety”: Schreidel v. American Honda

Is your car a “lemon”?  Under the Lemon Law’s terms, you must have suffered a substantial impairment of the vehicle’s use, value or safety.    The case, Schreidel v. American Honda Motor Co., 34 Cal.App.4th 1242 (1995) provides examples.  In that case, the early appearance and repeated clutch problems caused the consumer to feel like…

201708.10
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California Lemon Law Guide: Your Expert Fees Are Recoverable: Jensen v. BMW

Many times consumers are forced to hire their own mechanic or other expert to assist with their Lemon Law case.  The Court in Jensen v. BMW specifically held that those expenses are recoverable by the consumer who wins their case against a manufacturer.  All reasonably incurred expert expense, just as any other cost, and just…

201708.10
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California Lemon Law Guide: the Lemon Law Protects Buyers of Used Vehicles if the New Car Warranty Was Not Expired at Purchase: Jensen v. BMW

California’s Lemon Law applies to any car “sold with a balance remaining on the manufacturer’s new motor vehicle warranty.” Jensen v. BMW, 35 Cal.App.4th 112 (1995).  In the Jensen case, a car with over 7,000 miles was leased.  BMW refused to repurchase the vehicle despite continual brake shudder problems that they could not fix after…

201708.10
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Ford Focus and Fiesta Lemon Law Alert: Beware the September 5 Class Action Deadline

So you received notice of the class action settlement for 2012-2016 Ford Fiesta or Ford Focuses, what now? Make sure to contact a lemon law lawyer If your Fiesta or Focus has experienced the same shuddering, hesitating, jerking, lack of power, failure to shift, failure to start, grinding, activation of the “CHECK ENGINE” warning light,…

201708.08
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California Lemon Law Guide: Does California’s Lemon Law Apply to My Out of State Purchase — California State Electronics Assn v. Zeos

If you are a consumer with a lemon vehicle, one of the first questions to ask is “What laws protect me?”  Many consumers in California lived out of state previously and may have purchased their vehicle somewhere else.  Does California’s Lemon Law protect them?  Unless you are active duty military (as explained below), it depends…