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…
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,…
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…
Can the car maker force you to sign a “release” and waiver of your non-lemon claims? Can it put a Gag Order on you in the form of Confidentiality or Non-Disparagement Clauses? No, it cannot. In Goglin v. BMW of North America, 4 Cal.App.5th 462, the Court held it was not enough for BMW…
Many times our clients are compelled to continue use of the lemons sold them. Many have no second or alternative transportation, many can’t afford to keep paying for the lemon and buy or rent a replacement. In California, there is no legal requirement that the consumer must discontinue use of the vehicle according to the…
Our lemon law clients, most of whom have suffered mightily at the hands of car makers that can’t fix but won’t buy back their cars, often ask “what about all the hassle of not having my vehicle, what about the stress of repeated life-threatening engine failures”? These are good and fair questions. Unfortunately, the case…
The news is coming out of a new scam by Wells Fargo: secretly placing insurance on your vehicle and charging you for it. In many cases, the consumer’s vehicle even get repossessed by Wells Fargo when these secret charges go unpaid! Check your bank statements everyone, if you have a car loan or lease through…
