In June 2018, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, interpreting California state law, held that sellers/manufacturers don’t have a duty to tell consumers about illegal or immoral labor practices used in making the product being sold. Hodson v. Mars, Inc., (No. 16-15444)(9th Cir.). The Court says it requires a “physical defect” that “affects the…
One of the most frequently litigated issues today is whether a robocall to a cellphone involves an autodialer and thus violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) if it is made without the consent of the called party. The TCPA is the main bulwark against the onslaught of robocalls to Americans’ cellphones, and, with statutory…
Often consumers call when their vehicles are no longer covered by the manufacturer’s factory warranty, but are covered under a “service contract.” Under Civil Code Section 1794(a), consumers can pursue a Court case if they are “damaged by a failure to comply with any obligation under [a]… service contract.” This is not a claim for…
In the recent case, Medina v. South Coast Car Company, Fourth App. Dist., Div.5, 2017 DJDAR 939 (Sept. 25, 2017), a California Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court’s judgment that Veros Credit, the lender on a fraudulent car sale, was held responsible for consumer damages and attorney’s fees through the “holder clause” that is…
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…
Consumers are always wondering when “enough is enough” under the lemon law. How many times do I have to take my lemon car back to the dealer for repair? One way of answering that question is to find out the minimum number of repair attempts. The case of Silvio v. Ford Motor Company, a lemon…
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…
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…
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…
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…
