Car companies in California are funding tort reform groups like CJAC, gearing up their attacks on California’s lemon law specifically, and on contingent attorney fees generically. California’s lemon law requires that car companies buyback defective and unsafe vehicles, and to accomplish its goals it includes a fee shifting provision, meaning California consumers do not have to pay out of pocket to hire attorneys to take on their case against massive car companies. Instead, the lemon law makes the car companies pay the consumer’s attorney fees and costs as part of the consumer’s claim. Rather than investing their record billions of profits in complying with California’s lemon law or in hiring sufficient manpower to provide excellent customer care, car companies are intent on focusing their efforts and money on attacking California’s lemon law and lemon law lawyers.
A recent comment by Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares revealed, however, that perhaps the reason for the increased number of lemon law cases in California isn’t California attorneys, but perhaps it is flawed manufacturing processes. And by no means is this problem unique to Stallantis. Stellantis brands include Dodge, Chrysler, Ram, Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and others. Tavares said that the company’s U.S. assembly plants are producing too many vehicles that need repairs before they can be shipped to dealerships. Tavares notes that the issues have lowered the company’s “direct run rate,” which is the number of vehicles produced “that get quality certified at the end of the line with no rework.” Going back to rectify issues in newly assembled vehicles adds to production costs, he said. Simply put, there are quality control and manufacturing issues that are assembling vehicles with problems.
Problems in manufacturing lead directly to problems on the road, and these defects are why California’s lemon law is so important. For decades car companies refused to stand behind their products, and if a consumer bought a new car that turned out to be a lemon, he or she would be stuck with an unsafe and dangerous vehicle, and massive repair costs to boot. California’s lemon law changed all that, and it opened up courtroom doors to consumers. The law of the land in California now is that if a manufacturer like Stellantis, Ford, GM, and all others, must repurchase vehicles that cannot be repaired in a reasonable number of repair attempts. Consumers should be aware of the protections provided for them by California law, and recognize attacks against the lemon law as funded by tort reform minded big business. We should all keep in mind that the problems in manufacturing must be addressed at the factory, but when they are not, that’s when and why California’s lemon law is so important.
If you think your vehicle might be a lemon, please contact our office for a free case evaluation.
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