Lemon Laws that Suck

Lemon Laws that Suck


Not every state Lemon Law is a good one. Those graded as the worst include Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, and North Dakota. These attempts to create consumer protecting Lemon Laws just plain suck.


Colorado is a good example. It has no provision for a deadly defect that threatens death or serious bodily injury, it provides for attorney fees to a prevailing manufacturer which means no consumer will sue and run the risk of having to pay an expensive corporate law firm, it has no provision for multiple different problems, and it forces consumers to resort to mandatory arbitration through biased auto company arbitration before they can exert their legal lemon rights. New Mexico's Lemon Law has the same defects.


Indiana is arguably even worse. It also has no deadly defect provision or limit on the quantity of different defects and forces consumers to go thru mandatory arbitration with a biased auto company arbitration before going to court. But to top it off, Indiana excludes conversion vans and motor homes. Guess where a ton of them are built. That's right. Indiana.


And North Dakota? I also has no deadly defect provision or limit on the number of defects either. And it also forces consumers to go thru a biased company arbitration before going to court too. Worse yet, it doesn't let the consumer recover their legal costs when they win.


If you live in one of these four states, your state Lemon Law just plain sucks. It's a good thing there's a federal Lemon Law that can still help you out.


Still, you should write to your state governor and state legislators and complain. These 4 laws are so weak that Lemon Law attorneys in Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, and North Dakota usually just ignore their state Lemon Laws and instead use the federal Lemon Law and other consumer protection laws.


For a link to your state governor's office, so you can send your complaining email, check the US Motorcycle Lemon Law Summaries page by clicking here. You're a taxpayer and your state government should be protecting you and helping you protect yourself. That's what you pay taxes for.


Burdge Law Office


Because life's too short to put up with a lemon.




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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.