Mad1
05-07-2003, 07:21 AM
With all the talk on here about warrenty issues, I thought everyone would like to know that the consumer can win a lawsuit against the car companies under the federal Moss-Maggnuson Act.
This guy (http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/may03/138718.asp) won against GM, which had to also pay all legal fees in the case ... $108,000, for a car that was worth less than $20,000.
That's on top of the $10,000 in damages a jury awarded in November to Vincent Megna Sr., 81, of Brookfield, who also got to keep the Cadillac. The car ultimately was fixed, but not by the dealer who sold the car.
Megna won his case not under the state's so-called lemon law but under a similar but older federal consumer warranty law known as the Magnuson-Moss Act.
"This case shows how many hours a company like General Motors will put in to fight. We would have taken $10,000 to settle this case - actually we said $15,000 - but we would have been willing to negotiate. They had offered us $1,000. It was just such an insult," said the guy's attorney, who is also his son.
But the younger Megna said many consumers, fearing high legal costs, will accept whatever an automaker offers.
Check out the full story because it does a pretty good job of explaining why you may want to sue under the federal act, rather than a state's "Lemon Laws," which only cover the first year after delivery.
Cheers!
Mad1
This guy (http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/may03/138718.asp) won against GM, which had to also pay all legal fees in the case ... $108,000, for a car that was worth less than $20,000.
That's on top of the $10,000 in damages a jury awarded in November to Vincent Megna Sr., 81, of Brookfield, who also got to keep the Cadillac. The car ultimately was fixed, but not by the dealer who sold the car.
Megna won his case not under the state's so-called lemon law but under a similar but older federal consumer warranty law known as the Magnuson-Moss Act.
"This case shows how many hours a company like General Motors will put in to fight. We would have taken $10,000 to settle this case - actually we said $15,000 - but we would have been willing to negotiate. They had offered us $1,000. It was just such an insult," said the guy's attorney, who is also his son.
But the younger Megna said many consumers, fearing high legal costs, will accept whatever an automaker offers.
Check out the full story because it does a pretty good job of explaining why you may want to sue under the federal act, rather than a state's "Lemon Laws," which only cover the first year after delivery.
Cheers!
Mad1