The California Lemon Law allows consumers who successfully sue to recover as damages the price “paid or payable” for the subject vehicle, subject to an offset in favor of the auto manufacturer for plaintiffs’ use of the vehicle prior to first defect.  Plaintiffs may also recover for violations of express warranty civil penalties of two…

The appellate court in Reynolds v. Ford Motor Company, — Cal.Rptr.3d —-, 2020 WL 1921742, made it absolutely clear:  Courts cannot consider the contingency fee when making statutory fee awards under the California Lemon Law fee shifting provisions.  Trial court judges have no discretion to reduce or deny statutory fee awards based on a contingency…

Our client, the plaintiff, purchased a brand new 2014 Focus for $40,007, including add-ons and financing. Within three days, the transmission began to slip and shudder. He took the Ford Focus back to the dealer for nine different transmission repairs during the three years he owned the vehicle, and 10 times for other repairs. Despite…

In 1995, the Krotin v. Porsche Cars North America, Inc., 38 Cal.App.4th 294 court clarified how the California Lemon Law is supposed to work.  In rejecting a jury instruction putting an unwarranted burden on California consumers to reject or revoke acceptance of the vehicle to obtain California Lemon Law remedies, the court held that a…

The California Lemon Law (Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act) provides specific remedies and damages to California consumers, including restitution (refund) and civil penalties.  Despite the harrowing experiences and frustrations unrepaired defects in cars cause, as a general rule, damages strictly for emotional distress are not recoverable under the California Lemon Law. (Kwan v. Mercedes-Benz of North…

The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (“Act”), known as the California Lemon Law, is one of the most pro-consumer pieces of legislation on California’s books today. In Kwan v. Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc., (1994) 23 Cal. App. 4th 174, the court re-emphasized the importance of civil penalties to maintain the protective purpose of the law.…

Model years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 Acura MDX and RDX SUVs have defects that can cause sudden and dangerous hesitation on acceleration, transmissions that shift without warning out of gear and into neutral, and engines that stall. These Acura MDXs and RDXs turn on “limp mode” without any warnings leaving drivers in unsafe…

According to the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, California’s lemon law, a buyer can recover civil penalties if the manufacturer willfully violated the Act In this context, “willful” means the manufacturer “knew of its legal obligations and intentionally declined to follow them.” This means that the manufacturer knew what it was doing and intended to do…

Under California Lemon Law, owners of lemon vehicles can seek a replacement vehicle or a “buyback” from the automaker. Owners of lemon vehicles can also seek other damages. These include compensation for “incidental and consequential” costs like towing fees. They also include attorney’s fees.  These damages seek to compensate the vehicle owner for costs they…

In addition to a refund of the price of the vehicle itself, a California buyer is entitled to recover incidental and consequential damages. The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, California’s lemon law, does not include an exhaustive list of what counts toward this total. Instead, the Act states such damages include but are not limited to…