Alaska Lemon Law Firms:
This is a list of law firms that are registered as specializing in Alaska lemon law cases.

Alaska Statutes, Title 45, Chapter 45, §§ 300-360

AS 45.45.300. Repairs Required.

If a new motor vehicle does not conform to an express warranty that is applicable to it and the owner of the vehicle reports the defect or condition to the manufacturer of the vehicle or to the manufacturer s or distributor s dealer during the term of the warranty, the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or a repairing agent shall make the necessary repairs to conform the vehicle to the express warranty.

AS 45.45.305. Replacement or Refund.

If during the term of the express warranty or within one year from the date of delivery of the motor vehicle to the original owner, whichever period terminates first, the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repairing agent is unable to conform the motor vehicle to an applicable express warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer or distributor shall accept the return of the nonconforming motor vehicle, and, at the owner's option, shall replace the nonconforming vehicle with a new, comparable vehicle or shall refund the full purchase price to the owner less a reasonable allowance for the use of the motor vehicle from the time it was delivered to the original owner. A refund under this section shall be made to a lienholder of record, if any, and the owner, as their interests may appear.

AS 45.45.310. Notice By Owner.

In order to claim a refund or replacement under AS 45.45.305, the owner shall give written notice by certified mail to the manufacturer and its dealer or repairing agent at any time before 60 days have elapsed after the expiration of the express warranty or the one-year period after the date of delivery of the motor vehicle to the original owner, whichever period terminates first, (1) stating that the vehicle has a nonconformity; (2) providing a reasonable description of the nonconformity; (3) stating that the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repairing agent has made a reasonable number of attempts to conform the vehicle; and (4) stating that the owner demands a refund or replacement vehicle to be delivered on the 60th day after the mailing of the written notice. Within 30 days after receiving the notice required by this section the manufacturer may make a final attempt to conform the vehicle before a refund or replacement is made under AS 45.45.305.

AS 45.45.315. Exceptions.

An owner may not receive a refund or replacement under AS 45.45.300 - 45.45.360 if the manufacturer or distributor shows that the nonconformity complained of

(1) does not substantially impair either the use or the market value of the motor vehicle; or

(2) is the result of alteration of the motor vehicle by the owner or a person other than a dealer or repairing agent that is not authorized by the manufacturer or distributor; or abuse or neglect by the owner or a person other than the dealer or repairing agent.

AS 45.45.320. Presumption.

A presumption that a reasonable number of attempts have been made to conform a motor vehicle under an applicable express warranty is established if:

(1) the same nonconformity has been subject to repair three or more times by the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repairing agent during the term of the express warranty or the one-year period after delivery of the motor vehicle to the original owner, whichever period terminates first, but the nonconformity continues to exist; or

(2) the vehicle is out of service for repair for a total of 30 or more business days during the express warranty term or the one-year period referred to in (1) of this section, whichever period terminates first; any period of time that repairs are not performed for reasons that are beyond the control of the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repairing agent is excluded from the 30-day time period referred to in this paragraph.

AS 45.45.325. Parts Availability.

A manufacturer whose vehicles are sold in the state through an authorized dealer shall provide its dealer or repairing agent with any part necessary to make a repair of a nonconformity covered under an express warranty, as soon as possible, without additional charge for freight or handling, if the part is not in the dealer's or agent's inventory when the nonconforming vehicle is brought to the dealer or repairing agent for repair.

AS 45.45.335. Resale Without Disclosure Prohibited.

A motor vehicle returned under AS 45.45.305 may not be resold by the manufacturer or distributor in the state unless full disclosure of the reason for the return is made to the prospective buyer before the resale is concluded.

AS 45.45.340. Other rights and remedies.

The provisions of AS 45.45.300 - 45.45.360 do not limit other rights and remedies that may be available to the owner of a motor vehicle under other provisions of law. This section does not create a new cause of action against a dealer or repairing agent who sells or attempts to repair a motor vehicle found to be nonconforming under AS 45.45.300 - 45.45.360.

AS 45.45.345. Repair Facilities.

A manufacturer or distributor or motor vehicles who authorizes the sale of the manufacturer's or distributor's motor vehicles in the state shall maintain authorized dealership facilities within the state that are able to perform the service and make the repairs required by the manufacturer's express warranty and by AS 45.45.300 - 45.45.360. AS 45.45.350. Reimbursement of Shipping Costs.

A manufacturer or distributor who accepts the return of a nonconforming motor vehicle under AS 45.45.305 shall reimburse the owner for any reasonable cost incurred in shipping the vehicle to and from the nearest authorized facility for warranty service and repair of a nonconformity that causes the return of the vehicle.

AS 45.45.355. Arbitration or Mediation.

If a manufacturer or distributor has established an informal dispute settlement procedure that substantially complies with the requirements of 16 C.F.R. 703, as that section may be amended, or if the manufacturer or distributor, after receipt of notice required by AS 45.45.310, offers in writing to participate in an arbitration or mediation process with the owner and the arbitration or mediation decision is binding on the manufacturer or distributor but not on the owner, and if the informal dispute settlement or arbitration or mediation process is approved by the attorney general, the provisions of AS 45.45.305 concerning refund or replacement or AS 45.45.350 concerning shipping costs do not apply to an owner who has not first resorted to the informal dispute settlement procedure or arbitration or mediation process.

AS 45.45.360. Definitions

Definitions in AS 45.45.300 - 45.45.360:

(1) "dealer" means a person who has obtained a franchise from, or is authorized by, a motor vehicle manufacturer to engage in the retail sale and warranty repair of the manufacturer's new motor vehicles in the state;

(2) "distributor" means a person who is authorized by a manufacturer to engage in the wholesale distribution of the manufacturer's new motor vehicles in the state;

(3) "express warranty" or "warranty" means an express written warranty provided by the manufacturer of a new motor vehicle;

(4) "full purchase price" means the total price paid for a motor vehicle by the original owner, including costs added to the retail price, such as original registration fees, transportation fees, dealer preparation, and dealer installed options;

(5) "manufacturer" means a person who by labor transforms raw materials and component parts into motor vehicles for wholesale or retail sale;

(6) "motor vehicle" or "vehicle" means a land vehicle having four or more wheels, that is self-propelled by a motor, is normally used for personal, family, or household purposes, and is required to be registered under AS 28.10; but does not include a tractor, farm vehicle, or a vehicle designed primarily for off-road use;

(7) "nonconformity" means a defect or condition in a motor vehicle caused by a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repairing agent that substantially impairs the use or market value of a vehicle;

(8) "owner" means a purchaser, other than for resale, of a new motor vehicle, and a person to whom ownership of the motor vehicle is transferred in conformity with AS 28;

(9) "reasonable allowance" means an amount attributable to an owner's use of a motor vehicle; a "reasonable allowance" may not exceed an amount equal to the depreciation in value of the vehicle for the period during which the vehicle is available for use by the owner, calculated by a straight line depreciation method over seven years, plus an amount equal to the depreciation in value of the vehicle that is caused by any neglect or abuse by the owner; or body damage not caused by a nonconformity;

(10) "repairing agent" means a person who has been specifically authorized by a motor vehicle manufacturer or distributor to perform warranty repairs in the state on one or more of the manufacturer's or distributor's motor vehicles;

(11) "substantially impairs the market value" means a nonconformity that substantially decreases the dollar value of a vehicle to the owner when compared to the dollar value of a similar vehicle that does not have the nonconformity;

(12) "substantially impairs the use" means a nonconformity that prevents a motor vehicle from being operated or makes the vehicle unsafe to operate.

In essence, the Lemon Laws stipulate that if you acquire (and in various states, lease) a brand new or used car or other car under warranty that does not work as intended, and the original maker cannot correct it in spite of repeated efforts (inside a fixed time that fluctuates from state to state), or if the product is out of service for a set time (typically 30 days) because of its troubles, you are qualified to a broad number of abuses, including:

1. Monetary damage settlements
2. A restitution of the purchase cost
3. A brand new automobile
In addition, almost all the Lemon Laws (as well as the Federal Warranty Law) have a fee switching element which states that if you win your lawsuit, the manufacturing business or car dealership that sold you your lemon is forced to repay you for legal expenses.


Lemon Law Statutes
State Lemon Law Regulations
Each of the 50 states has its own Lemon Law statute. Although the protections of each state's statute are distinct, the common state Lemon Law statute offers help for buyers with a dilapidated car covered by a warranty if:

1. The dealership or manufacturing business just can't rightly correct a particular flaw in the motor vehicle after a reasonable number of repair tries (commonly at least three);
2. The motor vehicle cannot be driven for at least 30 days due to flaws in the motor vehicle; or
3. The dealership or manufacturing business cannot repair a deficiency that is a important safety risk.

More often than not, a defective automobile is a automobile with a condition or condition that considerably impares its usability, marketability, or safety to the consumer and does not conform to the written warranty. Frequently, the period of time during which the Lemon Laws apply are relatively short; the shortcomings and resultant repair efforts (or out-of-service time period) generally will occur during the first 2-years or 24,000 miles of consumer ownership of the motor vehicle. However, a number of states have even shorter periods. Moreover, most states have notice and activation requirements, such as asking the consumer to send off registered mail notice to the original maker of the flaws and establishing the dealer an option to remedy the car. Additionally, many states necessitate that Lemon Law cases be resolved through an arbitration procedure.

Generally, state Lemon Law regulation codes also apply to leased automobiles and preowned automobiles bought whilst under the manufacturing business* factory warranty. A good number of state Lemon Laws also are applicable to automobiles other than passenger cars. depending on the buyer's home residence, or the state in which the consumer bought the vehicle, Lemon Laws may apply to:

-RV's
-Motorcycles
-Pleasure Craft
-Other consumer commodities (such as electronics)
There are many significant solutions possible under the Lemon Laws. US Statesally, if the original producer cannot repair the car, the consumer may either require the original producer to replace the vehicle, or insist the original producer to reposess the vehicle and refund the original price paid along with incidental costs, like all invoices, towing costs, repair costs, alternative transportation charges and other costs incurred by the consumer as a consequence of the troubles in the vehicle. Another important relief available under most Lemon Laws is laywers' expenses. In many states, if you prevail in a Lemon Law lawsuit, you do not have to pay any laywers' bills-the car original equipment manufacturer that sold you your lemon is expected to pay your laywers' charges.

The defendant auto original maker can utilize assorted defenses to a Lemon Law claim. The typical statute affords that the original maker is not responsible if it can affirm that the flaws at issue persisted due to misdeed, carelessness, or the tampering or modification of a car by anyone other than the maker, an agent, or an authorized dealer. Put differently, if the consumer maltreats his or her own automobile, or the problems were a consequence of changing or adjustments carried out by an unauthorized party, the maker could not be liable.


Federal Lemon Law Statutes
The Magnuson Moss Act
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal law that governs consumer product warranties. Ratified by Congress in 1975, the Magnuson Moss Act requires makers and vendors of consumer products to provide consumers with explanatory data about warranty coverage claims. In addition, it infects both the rights of consumers and the obligations of warrantors under manufacturer warranties.

Even though the Magnuson Moss Act does not demand an motor vehicle original maker to provide buyers with a warranty, if a warranty is offered, the Magnuson Moss Act offers a number of protections for the consumer. The Magnuson Moss Act makes it more easy for buyers to sue for breach of warranty by making breach of warranty a violation of federal law, and by allowing for public consumers to recoup court charges and reasonable laywers' expenses.

The Magnuson Moss Act is oftentimes helpful in a lemon situation in which, for some reason, a state Lemon Law claim is not possible or moreover unfit. For instance, contrary to the rather short cycle provided to consumers inside many Lemon Laws, you can register a claim for breach of warranty after the warranty period has expired as long as the defects occured during the warranty period. In addition, although some Lemon Laws restrict their coverage benefits to a narrow number of vehicles, the Magnuson Moss Act is relevant to nearly all consumer goods. The Magnuson Moss Act might also be applicable if you purchased or leased a preowned automobile without a manufacturing business warranty, or if the automobile is covered by a third party contract or other variant of extended warranty.


The Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (referred to as "UCC") has been enacted in every state. It is the primary agent of law governing product warranties, including motor vehicles and other items. The UCC offers an alternative legal channel for consumers with lemon problems.

UCC code stipulates that the buyer of a product is entitled to return goods which do not perform in any feature to the contract. Essentially, if your new motor vehicle doesn't operate as endorsed by the maker (your manufacturer warranty is a portion of your contract), you can file a claim referencing the UCC in addition to whatever additional claims you may have.

The period of time for rejecting a car with the UCC is not unlimited. If you see a failing in your automobile inside a reasonable review period, you can reject the car. Unfortunately, brand new cars can be oftentimes technically complex and you may not know whether your car conforms to the contract until long after you acquire the car and troubles start to develop. Therefore, if Following this review period you do not refuse the car, you will be said to have o.K.ed it and may have no claim through the UCC.

The duration of the inspection time period is not defined in the statute. Local courts determine how long the reasonable review period is based on the consumer's familiarity and past experience, the consumer's trouble in observing the fault, and the consumer's opportunity to discover the defect.

In spite of this limitation, the UCC provides that in certain examples where a purchaser is pronounced to have accepted products (i.e. the reasonable review time period has elapsed), a purchaser may still repeal his approval of those product where the non-conformity frequently cripples the marketability of the product to him. Those instances include suits in which it was challenging to see the nonconformity or the purchaser was ensured that the non-conformity would be fixed. Put differently, the local court will pardon the purchaser from not rejecting the product where the purchaser could not have fairly done so, or where the manufacturer promised the buyer that the problems would be repaired.
Once a vehicle excessively breaks and you have to keep bringing it back to the car dealership for repair under the written warranty, the auto lemon law may be your next course. The fault ought to be substantial where it interferes with your driving the item or your safety. A item stalling frequently is a substantial fault. This is precisely the type of condition that could impair your driving and your safety. Under the automobile lemon law you are not required to demonstrate why the vehicle is stalling, you just have to show that it is stalling. In essence you need to check out the lemon law in these three instances: the vehicle keeps failing inside the warranty time period, the vehicle is a safety hazard, the dealer is unable to rebuild the vehicle when it is warranted.

If you have a product which is a lemon you can directly write to the manufacturer and ask for a replacement product. If this demand is not satisfactory to the manufacturer, you could enter into an arbitration process. A few manufacturers incorporate their own arbitration program. Other manufacturers utilise third party arbitration program like Autoline by the Better Business Bureau. The recommendation of the arbitrators is binding on the manufacturer but not on the consumer. If unsatisfied with the proposal, the consumer can take the manufacturer to court.

Virtually all laws state that the consumer must be restored back to the financial status they were in before they purchased the vehicle, less the amount of money that the consumer benefited from by using the vehicle. To get the repayment total many factors are considered such as was it a sale or a lease, the purchase price, taxes and license, and mileage etc.
Some almost new used cars may qualify under normal lemon laws. For example, a pre-owned vehicle might fall under regular lemon laws if it is less than 1 year old and has got less than 12,000 miles on the odometer. States that do have a pre-owned car lemon law might be extra generous with the age and measure of mileage. Still, the car must be sold by a dealer that offers a warranty. Individual sales aren't regulated, nor are cars sold under a stated original price paid. There may be other restrictions to a used car lemon law such as the functions in which the vehicle is utilized or the categorisation of vehicle. Classic vehicles, are ordinarily excluded from pre-owned car lemon laws. Used car lemon laws commonly cover a much shorter period than new car laws. They usually range from 30 to 90 days, depending on your used car's mileage.
When choosing an attorney for your lemon case, make sure that your lawyer is knowledgeable about the laws that apply to your state. Also enquire about the fee system. Many lemon law lawyers call for a relatively modest retainer to manage a lemon law claim, and thereafter, the attorney's bills are charged to the original equipment manufacturer. Essentially, lemon law claims are ordinarily very affordable to customers. The reimbursement of lawyer charges varies from state to state. About one-half of the states permit you to recuperate your Lawyer fees if you win. The lawyer's fee is based on actual time logged instead of being connected to any other percent of the recuperation. In many States, you will pay the manufacturer's attorney's invoices if you lose.

Consumers ought to place their complaints in writing and keep a copy. In any written correspondence, always delineate how difficult it is to take the vehicle to the dealer for repairs and that the reliability that the consumer thought He was getting has been non-existent. Any written correspondence with a dealership or original equipment manufacturer ought to be sent using certified mail. In many instances the manufacturers claim that they haven't had the requisite number of endeavors to fix the condition. They rely on the reality that the consumer doesn't file repair sheets for each time they have taken the motor vehicle into the dealership. They also assume on the fact that the repair sheets have different items repaired every instance proving that they haven't fixed the same problem. Consumers should reply by requiring that dealerships always present them a warranty repair ticket. Consumers must also indicate that these unwritten visits are tries.

Make sure to be mindful of your lemon law rights. Upon purchase, immediately page through your owner's binder and warranty references completely, and the data pertaining lemon law rights which you ought to obtain when you acquire your motor vehicle. Don't depend on your dealer to explain which problems are covered by warranty. If your dealer states that a problem isn't covered and you believe that he is being deceptive, be civil but confident. Don't be afraid to produce the part of the warranty that applies, or to call the original producer for verification using the contact information included with your owner's binder. You should not have to pay for corrections associated to lemon law complaints. It's also important to notify the original producer of a complaint promptly. If you think that your vehicle has a problem what can't be fixed, check your lemon law rights to see when you are able to bring a lemon law complaint.

Lemon Law Tips:

1. Take your car in early - as soon as something appears wrong.
2. Hold onto repair orders - Always obtain a work order when you take the vehicle for repairs, and always obtain a completed repair order when work is completed. Be sure the work order reflects your own thoughts and comments regarding your complaints. If the technician summarizes or changes your complaint too much, have that technician add your corrected comments. Sign and receive a copy of the repair Order before leaving.
3. Be consistent in your complaints. Lemon Laws generally require that a manufacturer's authorized repair facility be provided with a reasonable number of opportunities to repair the same problem(s). Therefore, be as consistent as possible on each repeated repair attempt in describing the problem(s) you are having. This will establish that the problem is the same recurring problem, and will make any potential lemon law claim easier to establish and prove.

4. Look for TSBs: Technical Service Bulletins are issued by manufacturers regarding common defects or repairs in certain automobile models. Your dealer will not seek to tell you about TSBs unless you ask. Ask the dealer to make note of your TSB request on the repair order, even if your dealer tells you that none exist for your problem.
5. Watch for bad advice - Dealers and manufacturers personnel, without intending to, frequently practice law by giving you their version of lemon laws. Typically it is wrong and may be detrimental to your case. It doesn't matter whether the reason for this misinformation is unintentional or not. The effect is similar. So check any advice given by the dealer or manufacturer before making any decision that may harm your case.

6. Beware of arbitration - Manufacturers frequently recommend arbitration or even imply that it is a mandatory prerequisite to resolving your problem. Arbitration is neither desirable nor mandatory! And it is absolutely not a prerequisite for making a lemon law demand!
Leading Misconceptions regarding the Lemon Laws

If my case does not qualify for the lemon law there is nothing I can do.
Attorneys regularly take cases that do not meet the lemon law criteria. All purchasers of defective products have a legal right to compensation. They frequently take cases which do meet the mileage or repair criteria of the lemon law, bring them in court, and secure compensation or other relief for the buyer.

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