You have taken your lemon vehicle in for repairs several times and finally decided to file a Lemon Law lawsuit. Your lemon attorney has reviewed your paperwork and will contact you regarding the potential outcome of your case. Most Lemon Law cases settle before trial. Both sides gather information formally through written questions (called interrogatories) and document requests during this process.
Discovery
The discovery begins once your lemon law lawyer files a lawsuit against the manufacturer. During this stage of the lemon law case, both parties gather information using formally written questions called interrogatories, requests for documents, and recommendations for admission. The duration of this phase may vary depending on the complexity of your case, but it usually takes several months. At the same time, our firm will work to resolve your case outside of court by contacting the defendants for a settlement offer.
In addition, you can recover incidental damages like towing costs, rental car expenses, out-of-pocket repair costs, and more. The federal and state lemon laws also allow you to recover attorney fees if your suit is successful. If a settlement cannot be reached through mediation or negotiation, your case will proceed to trial. Less than 1% of all cases make it to the trial stage, but our attorneys are ready to fight aggressively for your rights before a judge and jury if necessary. A jury trial can last four or five days. During the trial, attorneys will present evidence that your vehicle qualifies as a lemon and that the manufacturer breached its warranty obligations to you.
Arbitration
After reviewing the evidence in your lemon law in Pennsylvania case, a qualified attorney will help you negotiate with the manufacturer to reach an out-of-court settlement. It is a much quicker and more cost-effective method of dispute resolution than going to trial. You will present physical evidence and witnesses to support your claims during the arbitration hearing. If any witness cannot attend the hearing, your attorney will use a subpoena to require their attendance. Additionally, attorneys will question witnesses and parties during depositions. These questions are asked under oath and can be used as evidence at trial. Before the trial begins, each side may file several motions. Some are procedural, while others are intended to clarify or resolve issues before the case goes to trial. Other actions include interrogatories, written questions posed to witnesses and parties under oath, and requests for documents such as internal memos, phone records, and repair and warranty information.
Trial
Once the attorneys have all their evidence, they will meet with you to review everything before the trial. It is time to ensure they have all your documentation, everything is organized correctly, and everything is clear for the case to proceed as expected. It is also the time for our lawyers to review with you any witness testimony they may call on at your lemon law trial. If you have any automotive experts that you wish to have to testify on your behalf, an attorney will get them to do so at this stage as well. The next step is a hearing before an arbitrator, wherein each side will present their evidence to the arbitrator. The arbitrator will then decide how your case should be resolved, which is binding on the manufacturer (though the decision can be challenged in court).
During this portion of your lemon law trial, our attorneys will put the manufacturer in the best position to get you a maximum-value refund or replacement car. Attorneys have a strong track record of getting results at this stage, as more than 90 percent of our cases settle without requiring a lawsuit to be filed. However, if the manufacturer refuses to agree to a settlement, your lemon law attorney will file a lawsuit in the appropriate court.
Representation
While some consumers file lemon law claims on their own or with the help of a friend, many find that they can get their cases settled more quickly when working with an experienced attorney.
An attorney can also ensure you have complied with all the requirements to file a lemon law claim. It includes filing the proper paperwork and sending it to the appropriate department or office for review. Your attorney can then work with the manufacturer and dealer to see if the matter can be resolved without a lawsuit. Once your application has been reviewed and accepted, an arbitration hearing date will be set – usually about a month out. A representative from the department will be present at this hearing to provide a vehicle expert’s opinion on the severity of the defect and its impact. After the expert presents their opinion, both sides may introduce evidence – normally repair orders for the defective vehicle. Both parties then give their closing arguments, and the arbitrator will decide. Less than 1% of all lemon law cases end up in trial. If the arbitrator determines in your favor, the manufacturer must offer you a refund or a new replacement vehicle.
