Florida – Is Your Car A Lemon?

Consumers in Florida are afforded the benefit of one of the nation’s strongest lemon laws. When you couple this protection with that of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, consumers who purchased or leased automobiles in Florida are not without redress for their sour “lemon.” These consumer protection statutes provide automobile lessees and purchasers with the right to seek a refund for their vehicle or a replacement automobile if the automobile manufacturer fails to repair the vehicle after only three (3) times or if the vehicle is out of service for a period of only thirty (30) business days. In other words, there comes a point that both the Florida Legislature and the United States Congress have recognized that enough is enough.

For those consumers that qualify under these standards, federal and state law provide that should the consumer prevail that the manufacturer is responsible for the consumer’s attorneys’ fees and costs. Notably, neither federal nor Florida law allow the manufacturer the same ability to recover its attorneys’ fees should the manufacturer prevail. These “one-way” fee-shifting provisions that apply to only consumers were enacted to encourage consumers to bring meritorious claims against automobile manufacturers and to make the pursuit of these claims affordable. For instance, without the benefit of these fee-shifting provisions consumers would be required to find an alternative way to pay for legal representation, such as giving their lawyer a third of their recovery or possibly even paying their lawyer on an hourly rate basis. Fortunately, the Florida Legislature and the United States Congress made a way for “lemon law” claims to be affordable for all consumers by providing the consumer with the ability to recover their attorneys’ fees and costs. Importantly, in recent months, the Florida Appellate Court in two (2) separate opinions upheld a consumer’s ability to recover attorneys’ fees despite the manufacturer’s initial resistance to pay the same. Therefore, not only has the legislature enacted laws to protect consumers in the State of Florida, but the judiciary has enforced these laws to protect the consumer, as well.

In addition to the rights of the automobile lessee and purchaser to seek a refund and replacement, federal and state law expand the arena of protection to a host of various other consumer products. Between federal and Florida law, every consumer product is subject to these consumer protection laws. Accordingly, for those consumers with defective televisions, boats, jet skis, recreational vehicles, refrigerators, microwave ovens, stereos, computers, etc., federal and Florida law provide protection to even the playing field with the manufacturers of these products. So whether you have a car or boat or other consumer product, rest assured that in the State of Florida that you have rights to rid yourself of your defective product and recover damages and attorneys’ fees for the same.

The attorneys at Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® have been handling consumer issues for over a decade now, and are well equipped to help consumers determine whether or not their vehicle is a lemon. Even if the car is not a lemon there are many avenues a consumer may take in order to get recovery. Therefore, it is important to speak with an attorney if the delivered product does not meet the consumer’s expectations.

If you’d like to find out if you are entitled to money back or a replacement vehicle, call 1-800-US LEMON® (800-875-3666) toll-free to reach Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center® for your FREE initial consultation! Or submit your information online for your FREE case evaluation.

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