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 independent mechanic had witnessed the problem and informed Honda of what he saw.  The jury heard how Honda’s attempts to duplicate were actually quite minimal, and that Honda only offered REPAIR not a buyback after even seeing a video of the problem occurring.  The jury also heard how Honda and the dealership servicing the vehicle repeatedly blamed the consumer’s desire to get out of her lease for her complaints.