The Lemon Law The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act

Lemon Laws in The United States

The lemon law in the United States is also known by the less popular name, The “Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act “. This law was enacted in 1975 and constitutes the federal statute that governs manufacturer warranties on consumer products.

The act was brought into law because of the abuse by manufacturers and resellers of their express warranties and disclaimers. The new law was designed to help consumers understand what the warranties really covered and also to provide clear path towards enforcing the provisions of these warranties and disclaimers.

In the final analysis, the consumer was protected from deceptive practices by this federal statute and many states now have lemon laws of their own based on state and federal laws.

General Lemon Law Requirements

The requirements behind the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act provides that a consumer product with a warranty must clearly expose, in language that is easy to understand, the exact terms and conditions of their warranty as required by the Federal Trade Commission rules.

Lemon Law Full Warranty Requirements

Products covered under a full warranty must conform to the details therein and, in the case of product defects, failures or under performance must provide service to fix the problem within a practical timeframe and without cost to the consumer. Within the lemon laws of most states, there is the concept of “Reasonableness”. In terms of product repair it would be an attempt to repair a product a reasonable number of times before the consumer could request a refund or replacement for the product.

Lemon Law Dispute Settlement Procedures

A consumer may procure legal counsel for representation during a lemon law case. If the ruling is favorable, the supplier would be responsible for payment of the legal representation provided by the plaintiff and be held responsible for other case related costs. For example, the interest on payments used to purchase the product, fees incurred because of costs associated to the product availability (a Rental Car in the case of an automotive lemon law case) and other charges directly related to the failure or malfunction of the product in question.

Lemon Law Limitations

Clearly the lemon law would not apply to any product that has been abused by the consumer, or used in a manner that conflicts with the terms of use detailed in the manufacturer warranty. A lemon law also does not apply to a product that a consumer agrees to purchases “As Is”. A consumer may also “sign-away” their rights if they have not followed a prudent review of the forms or contracts that they are instructed to read and sign. This is subject to court review and may be argued in a court of law.

Consumer Responsibility

Although we are protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, it is always within the best interest of any consumer to read, question and understand the warranty we are receiving whether we are purchasing a new Automobile, or an expensive item covered by a manufacturer’s warranty. It is the legal obligation of the seller to inform the consumer, in simple terms the details of a warranty, however a consumer who takes their time to learn and understand the contract or warranty details will ultimately come away from the purchase with realistic expectations and the knowledge that future action may be taken in the case of a failure or malfunction of the product purchased.