Are California Lemon Laws Useful?
If you are thinking of getting a vehicles or even a boat in California, it is helpful if you have a fair understanding of California lemon laws. The California lemon law puts a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the manufacturer. The lemon law in California demands that the manufacturer be held absolutely liable for the defects in the vehicle including motorcycles and boats.
Therefore, if you have got a vehicle and it frequently breaks down within the guarantee period, you can proceed against the manufacturer under California state lemon law and make him replace the vehicle or return the money.
The other side of the law being strict and effective is that the litigation has increased in the California between the buyers and sellers. While the buyers insist on the manufacturing defect of a product, the manufacturer either insists on the legal principle of 'caveat emptor' or insists that the warranty has been voided on some account. However, the law and the courts normally do not take a kind view of the manufacturer who produced something that was not up to the mark.
The manufacturer, most of the time, was asked to reimburse the payment made or replace the defective vehicle. And the option to get the reimbursement or the replacement is usually with the buyer. Therefore, the CA lemon law is not exactly a boon for the manufacturers, as it seeks to protect the purchasers from profit hungry manufacturers. However, the law does not stop at that, and sometimes goes on to slap punitive damages so that it acts as a deterrent. There have been times when some of the strict judges were not content until they awarded a civil penalty amounting to over twice the actual damage suffered by the purchaser. And sometimes the cases are also dismissed with costs meaning that the manufacturer pays the cost litigation borne by the plaintiff. So, the fee paid to the attorney, the cost of paper work, the cost of filing and everything else is paid for by the manufacturer because the law considers him guilty of not only supplying a defective item but also driving the purchaser to the court. Under the law, however, the dispute can also be resolved without going through the tortuous court proceedings. The parties could simply go to an arbiter and honour the arbitration award without challenging it in the court. However, the effect of arbitration is lost simply because the party that loses challenges the award in the court, which again makes the process time consuming and all the good done by arbitration is quickly lost. So, California lemon laws tend to protect the purchases. The only way to avoid court trials is to submit to arbitration and to accept the award.
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