Texas Lemon Law Attorney

Lemon Law

Consumers sometimes face difficulties in getting a new but defective vehicle fixed. A dealership may seem receptive to your situation but repeatedly fail to help you get your lemon operable. To qualify under the Texas Lemon Law, you need to have a vehicle that has faced multiple repair attempts under the warranty. If you can show that your new vehicle is a lemon, the car’s manufacturer is supposed to either replace the vehicle or refund it after subtracting a certain amount for mileage under the Texas Lemon Law, a consumer protection law.

You are required to give the manufacturer a reasonable opportunity to repair the defect or defects. This may sound vague, but there are a number of tests that can be used to show that a reasonable opportunity was given. A lemon law attorney in Texas can help you understand how these tests may apply. For example, if you have taken your car to a dealership for repairs four times for the same problem within the first two years or 24,000 miles driven, whichever is first, and the problem persists, you have provided a reasonable opportunity. Similarly, if you have taken your vehicle to the dealership two or more times to get a serious safety hazard repaired during the first two years or 24,000 miles, whichever is first, and the problem persists, a reasonable opportunity has been given. If your new car is out of service and needs repairs because of a defect that substantially limits your use or the vehicle’s market value because of warranty-covered defects for at least 30 days during the first 24 months or 24,000 miles, and the problem persists but the dealer has not given you a comparable loaner vehicle, you have provided a reasonable opportunity.

The Texas Lemon Law is administered by the Texas Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division and Motor Vehicle Board. Both formal hearings and mediations may be used to resolve an issue administratively, and this can be simpler than proceeding through court. Our Texas lemon law attorney represents clients in cases arising out of the Texas Lemon Law, as well as other consumer laws. Sometimes the Truth in Lending Act or another law may apply to your situation and allow you to pay for repairs.

Auto Dealer Fraud

Auto dealer fraud can happen in many different ways, including financing eligibility scams, failures to disclose, improper scoring of credit, or spot delivery scams. Different laws may apply depending on the particular scam. A spot delivery scam happens if you finance your vehicle with the dealership under a low interest rate promotion. After you take possession of the vehicle, the dealer will contact you and tell you that the financing for the low interest rate promotion did not work out or that the paperwork was not correctly filled out. You will be asked to sign paperwork under other terms. If you have been a victim of a spot delivery scam, you may be able to bring a claim under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

In some cases, damages are discovered after you buy and take possession of a car, and the sale was a result of misleading speech by the seller. For example, if a seller misrepresents that a car has never been wrecked, a Texas lemon law lawyer can help you bring a claim under the Lemon Law, which requires truthful disclosures when a vehicle is returned as a lemon.

Warranty Law

If you are sold a car that is defective, you may be able to sue the manufacturer or car dealer under federal warranty laws. One of the federal warranty laws that may apply is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Under this law, sellers and makers of consumer products are required to give consumers detailed information about warranty coverage. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act protects you if you bought a product that cost more than $10 and came with a written express warranty. A consumer can sue in most courts of general jurisdiction to enforce their rights under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

You may be able to get a replacement product or a refund. If you prevail, you can also get attorneys’ fees, and this can provide the requisite pressure for a manufacturer to settle a controversy.

Product Liability

In some cases, it is possible to recover damages for harm caused by a defective car by suing the parties in the chain of manufacture in a product liability lawsuit. Theories that may be asserted in a product liability lawsuit include strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty. Generally, in Texas, product liability lawsuits are pursued under a theory of strict liability. That means that a lemon law lawyer in Texas will need to prove that the product is defective and that you were harmed due to the defect. You do not need to show that the manufacturer’s conduct fell below a particular standard of care. Generally, products can be defective in terms of design, manufacturing, or marketing.

Design defects are usually found in every iteration of a product. In contrast, a manufacturing defect is caused by mistakes in production or quality control, and it may not be present in every iteration of a product. A common manufacturing defect is tread separation on a tire.

Texas Commercial Code (UCC) Litigation

Sometimes claims based on defective vehicles or lemons may be pursued under the Texas Uniform Commercial Code. The Texas Uniform Commercial Code is applicable to most sales in the state, including sales of vehicles, and it permits you to take back your acceptance of a lemon. You would need to establish that there are defects that were not repaired within a reasonable number of attempts, and the defects substantially impair the vehicle’s value. This law is helpful because the statute of limitations is four years, which is the time within which you can file suit with the assistance of a lemon law attorney in Texas. This is longer than the statute of limitations for the Lemon Law, which is either 24,000 miles or 24 months, whichever limit is triggered first. If you want to operate under the Texas Uniform Commercial Code, you should let the seller of a car know as soon as possible that you intend to return the lemon and are revoking acceptance.

California Lemon Law

If you bought a new vehicle in California, and you have taken it back three or more times, we may be able to help you bring a claim under the Song-Beverly Act, also known as the California Lemon Law, which can permit recovery of a replacement, a buyback, or a monetary settlement. This law provides protection against significant warranty defects that cannot be repaired. It mandates that a manufacturer that is not able to fix a vehicle to conform to its own express warranty after a reasonable number of repair attempts must buy back or replace the vehicle. There are guidelines to decide what a reasonable number of efforts to repair would be. The California Lemon Law applies throughout the original warranty period. Under this law, there is a presumption that a vehicle is a lemon when certain conditions arise within 18 months of delivery or 18,000 miles.

Consult a Skillful Lemon Law Lawyer in Texas

Our firm is dedicated to protecting consumers. We handle claims arising out of the Texas Lemon Law and warranty laws for most kinds of new vehicles and defective consumer products in and around Dallas. Even if you are not entitled to pursue a claim under the Texas Lemon Law, there may be other options available to you, such as asserting rights under the Magnuson-Moss Act or bringing a product liability lawsuit. Call the Law Offices of Kevin Le, PLLC at 1-888-333-3813 or complete our online form to find out more about what we can do for you.