Since the first lemon law was passed in 1982, all fifty states have enacted some form of consumer protection for owners of defective automobiles. The laws vary greatly from state to state, but the premise is the same – people who buy new, defective vehicles are entitled to receive a replacement or a refund. This works well on paper, but in practice, the process can be rather time consuming and complicated. Some states have rather straightforward requirements for which vehicles qualify; others are far more complicated. Some states allow the owner to sue the manufacturer directly; others require that the owner submit to manufacturer or state sponsored arbitration procedures first.
Since lemon law claims are complicated and are not the sort of thing that most consumers handle more than once, there is some advantage to hiring an attorney to help. In many cases, hiring a lawyer isn’t necessary, as the system was designed to let the consumer handle the case without legal assistance. But there are many unexpected circumstances that can turn up in these cases, and most people could benefit from the help of an experienced attorney.
Here are some examples...