| Kansas Lemon Law Firms, the Kansas lemon law code, and information
Kansas Lemon Law Firms:
This is a list of law firms that are registered as specializing in Kansas lemon law cases.
| Rebein Bangerter PA |
810 W Frontview St. P.O. Box 1147 Dodge City, KS 67801-2231 67801 |
54.03 miles |
| (620) 227-8126 |
www.rebeinbangerter.com |
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| Weltmer Law Office |
220 N Commercial Mankato, KS 66956-0303 66956 |
137.34 miles |
| (785) 378-3172 |
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| Law Offices of James P. Ruane |
205 E. Central Wichita, KS 67202 67202 |
162.64 miles |
| (316) 269-2284 |
www.wichita-business-attorney.com |
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| Ogborn, Summerlin & Ogborn, L.L.C. |
210 Windsor Place 330 South 10th Street Lincoln, NE 68508 68508 |
244.27 miles |
| (402) 434-8044 |
www.osobizconflicts.com |
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| The Law Offices of Robert R. Robles |
428 NW 5th St. Suite A Oklahoma City, OK 73102 73102 |
253.42 miles |
| (405) 232-7980 |
www.robert-r-robles.com |
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| Park, Nelson, Caywood, Jones |
122 North Fourth Street P.O. Box 968 Chickasha, OK 73023 73023 |
266.46 miles |
| (405) 224-0386 |
www.pncj.com |
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| Theodore P. Watson & Associates, LLC |
695 South Colorado Blvd. #480 Denver, CO 80246 80246 |
269.20 miles |
| (720) 859-0206 |
www.theodorewatson.com |
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| Richardson, Stoops, Richardson & Ward |
6555 S. Lewis, Second Floor Tulsa, OK 74136 74136 |
285.36 miles |
| (918) 492-7674 |
www.rsrwlaw.com |
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| Lawson Law Office, LLC |
5330 Gleason Rd. Shawnee, KS 66226 66226 |
287.68 miles |
| (913) 441-9797 |
www.lawsonlawllc.com |
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| Law Offices of Mark D. Hagen |
6405 Metcalf Avenue Suite 202 Overland Park, KS 66202 66202 |
297.72 miles |
| (913) 236-9696 |
www.hagenlawoffices.com |
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Kansas Statutes Annotated 50-645
50-645 Motor vehicle warranties.
Definitions; consumer rights and remedies.
(a) As used in this act:
(1) "Consumer" means the original purchaser or lessee, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor vehicle; and
(2) "motor vehicle" means a new motor vehicle which is sold or leased in this state, and which is registered for a gross weight of 12,000 pounds or less, and does not include the customized parts of motor vehicles which have been added or modified by second stage manufacturers, first stage converters or second stage converters as defined in K.S.A. 8-2401, and amendments thereto.
(b) If a motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable warranties, and the consumer reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer during the term of any warranties or during the period of one year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date, the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer shall make such repairs as are necessary to conform the vehicle to such warranties, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of any such term or such one-year period.
(c) If the manufacturer, or its agents or authorized dealers, are unable to conform the motor vehicle to any applicable warranty after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall replace the motor vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle under warranty or accept return of the vehicle from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase or lease price including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle as calculated from the most recent edition of Your Driving Costs, published by the American automobile association. Refunds shall be made to the consumer, and lien holder if any, as their interests may appear. A reasonable allowance for use shall be that amount directly attributable to use by the consumer and any previous consumer prior to the first report of the nonconformity to the manufacturer, agent or dealer and during any subsequent period when the vehicle is not out of service by reason of repair. It shall be an affirmative defense to any claim under this act that:
(1) An alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair such use and value; or
(2) a nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations of a motor vehicle by a consumer.
(d) If the manufacturer receives actual notice of the nonconformity, it shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable warranties, if:
(1) The same nonconformity which substantially impairs the use and value of the motor vehicle to the consumer has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers within the term of any warranty or during the period of one year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date, but such nonconformity continues to exist;
(2) the vehicle is out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days during such term or period, whichever is the earlier date; or
(3) there have been 10 or more attempts to repair any nonconformities which substantially impair the use and value of the motor vehicle to the consumer and such attempts to repair have been attempts by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers.
The term of any warranty, such one-year period and such thirty-day period shall be extended by any period of time during which repair services are not available to the consumer because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or other natural disaster.
(e) If a manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure which complies in all respects with the provisions of title 16, code of federal regulations, part 703, as from time to time amended, the provisions of subsection (c) concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any consumer who has not first resorted to such procedure.
(f) The attorney general shall have jurisdiction to enforce this section.
Basically, the Lemon Laws stipulate that if you buy (and in several states, lease) a brand new or used vehicle or other vehicle with a warranty that is defective, and the original producer just can not restore it even with repeated tries (inside a set time that differs from state to state), or if the product is not usable for a limited time (typically 30 days) because of its shortcomings, you are entitled to a broad number of breaks, inclusive of:
1. Money damages
2. A payback of the original price
3. A new vehicle
Moreover, almost all of the Lemon Laws (and the Federal Warranty Law) have a fee transferring component which states that if you win your lawsuit, the original equipment manufacturer or dealer that sold you the lemon is obliged to repay you for attorneys' bills.
Lemon Law Statutes
State Lemon Law Regulations
Each of the 50 states has a different Lemon Law statute. Even though the attributes of each state's statute are distinct, the average state Lemon Law statute affords help for owners with a broken-down automobile sold with a warranty if:
1. The dealership or original equipment manufacturer just can not actually fix a specific defect in the vehicle after a fair number of repair efforts (usually at least 3);
2. The motor vehicle cannot be driven for at least 30 days due to problems in the vehicle; or
3. The dealer or original equipment manufacturer just can't remedy a problem that is a endangering safety risk.
Typically, a defective car is a car with a problem or affliction that largely impairs its use, marketability, or safety to the consumer and does not maintain the standard of the warranty. Often times, the period during which the Lemon Laws apply are rather short; the defects and resultant repair efforts (or out-of-service period of time) typically must occur during the first 2-years or 24,000 miles the owner has the motor vehicle. However, a number of states have even shorter time periods. Furthermore, many states have notice and trigger prerequisites, such as wanting the consumer to send out registered post notice to the manufacturing business of the shortcomings and affording the dealer an opportunity to repair the motor vehicle. In addition, several states require that Lemon Law claims be solved through an arbitration procedure.
Generally, state Lemon Law ordinances also apply to leased automobiles and used automobiles purchased whilst under the makers original warranty. A lot of state Lemon Laws also apply to automobiles other than passenger cars. depending on the consumer's home residence, or the state where the consumer bought the car, Lemon Laws may be applicable to:
-RV's
-Motorcycles
-Pleasure Boats
-Other consumer products (like televisions)
There are many effective solutions available under the Lemon Laws. Statesten times, if the manufacturer can't repair the motor vehicle, the consumer may either require the manufacturer to replace the vehicle, or demand the manufacturer to take the vehicle and repay the purchase price plus incidental costs, like all expenses, towing charges, repair charges, related transportation costs and other charges incurred by the consumer as a result of the faults in the vehicle. Another important relief possible under most Lemon Laws is legal expenses. In most states, if you win in a Lemon Law lawsuit, you do not have to pay any laywers' charges-the motor vehicle original maker that sold you your lemon is expected to pay for your legal fees.
The defendant car original equipment manufacturer can apply various defenses to a Lemon Law claim. The conventional statute provides that the manufacturing business is not liable if it can demonstrate that the troubles in dispute persisted due to maltreatment, negligence, or the modification or alteration of a car by a party other than the original maker, an agent, or its authorized dealer. In different words, if the consumer damages his or her own car, or the troubles were a consequence of changing or changes carried out by an unauthorized person, the original maker could not be responsible.
Federal Lemon Law Statutes
The Magnuson Moss Act
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal law that regulates consumer goods warranties. Approved by Congress in 1975, the Magnuson Moss Act requires manufacturers and sellers of consumer products to provide consumers with detailed facts about warranty coverage claims. Also, it sets both the rights of public consumers and the obligations of warrantors under original warranties.
Although the Magnuson Moss Act doesn't call for an automobile manufacturer to provide consumers with a warranty, if a warranty is provided, the Magnuson Moss Act offers various protections for the consumer. The Magnuson Moss Act makes it easier for consumers to sue for violating the warranty by making breach of warranty an infraction of federal law, and by permitting purchasers to recoup legal charges and sensible laywers' expenses.
The Magnuson Moss Act is oftentimes beneficial in a lemon case where, for some reason, a state Lemon Law claim is unavailable or otherwise unfit. For instance, divaricate from the generally short period of time provided to consumers within many Lemon Laws, you could record a claim for breach of warranty after the warranty period has passed if the defects came about during the warranty period. Additionally, although a few Lemon Laws limit their coverage benefits to a very specific list of vehicles, the Magnuson Moss Act is relevant to almost all consumer goods. The Magnuson Moss Act could also be applicable if you purchased or leased a preowned car without a manufacturer's warranty, or if the car is covered by a third party agreement or other type of extended warranty.
The Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (referred to as "UCC") has been passed in all states. It is the foundational basis of law governing contracts dealing with the sale of products, including cars and other items. The UCC offers an alternative legal course for public consumers with lemon problems.
UCC code stipulates that the consumer of a product is entitled to return product that do not perform in any aspect to the agreement. Essentially, if your recently purchased product doesn't operate as established by the original maker (your manufacturer warranty is part of your consumer agreement), you can file a claim citing the UCC in addition to whatever other claims you may have.
The time for bringing back a motor vehicle with the UCC is not unlimited. If you reveal a deficiency in your motor vehicle within a fair posession time period, you can reject the automobile. Unfortunately, brand new motor vehicles are typically technically complicated and you might not know whether your car conforms to the contract till long after you buy the car and problems start to arise. Basically, if Long after this posession period you fail to return the car, you will be pronounced to have okayed it and will have no claim through the UCC.
The duration of the inspection time period is not specified in the regulation. The Courts decide how long the reasonable inspection period is based on the purchaser's familiarity and past experience, the purchaser's difficulty in noticing the gremlin, and the purchaser's opportunity to identify the deficiency.
In spite of this limitation, the UCC provides that in certain instances where a consumer is deemed to have accepted products (i.e. the reasonable inspection period has expired), a consumer may still disclaim his favorable reception of those goods where the non-conformity often impairs the marketability of the goods to him. Those cases include situations in which it is challenging to see the nonconformity or the consumer was assured that the non-conformity would be repaired. Re-stated, the court will exempt the consumer from not having rejected the goods where the consumer could not have reasonably done so, or where the manufacturer promised the buyer that the problems would be repaired.
Once a motor vehicle excessively breaks down and you have to keep taking it back to the dealer for repair under the written warranty, the car lemon law can be your next refuge. The fault should be significant in which it interferes with your driving the car or your safety. A car stalling often would be a significant fault. This is exactly the type of condition that may hinder your driving and your safety. Under the motor vehicle lemon law you are not expected to show why the automobile is stalling, you only have to prove that it is stalling. Basically you need to check into the lemon law in these 3 instances: the automobile keeps breaking inside the warranty time period, the automobile is a safety hazard, the car dealership is not able to fix the automobile when it is warranted.
If you have a motor vehicle which is a lemon you can immediately write to the manufacturing business and ask for a replacement motor vehicle. If this request is not satisfactory to the manufacturing business, you can start into an arbitration program. A few manufacturing business* have their own arbitration process. Other manufacturing business* have outside arbitration program including Autoline by the Better Business Bureau. The recommendation of the arbitrators is binding on the manufacturing business but not on the owner. If unsatisfied with the proposition, the owner can take the manufacturing business to court.
Virtually all regulations specify that the customer needs to be restored back to the fiscal situation they were in before they purchased the automobile, less the measure that the customer benefited from by using the automobile. To get the refund amount a number of factors are considered such as was it a sale or a lease, the purchase price, taxes and license, and mileage etc.
Some virtually new pre-owned vehicles may qualify under basic lemon laws. For example, a pre-owned automobile might fall under regular lemon laws if it is less than a year old and has less than 12,000 miles on the odometer. States which do have a pre-owned automobile lemon law will be additionally accommodative with the age and amount of mileage. Still, the automobile has to be sold by a car dealership that provides a warranty. Individual sales aren't regulated, nor are motor vehicles sold under a declared original price paid. There could be other restrictions to a used car lemon law such as the proposes for which the automobile is driven or the classification of automobile. Classic vehicles, are commonly excluded from pre-owned automobile lemon laws. Used automobile lemon laws normally cover a much shorter period of time than new automobile laws. They often range from 30 to 90 days, depending on your pre-owned car's mileage.
When selecting an attorney for your lemon case, make sure that your lawyer is knowledgeable about the regulations that apply to your state. Also enquire about the fee system. Many lemon law lawyers take a rather minor retainer to manage a lemon law claim, and thereafter, the lawyer's invoices are sent to the maker. Therefore, lemon law claims are oftentimes very inexpensive to public consumers. The reimbursement of lawyer bills varies from state to state. About one-half of the states allow you to recoup your Attorney charges if you win. The attorney's fee is based upon actual time expended instead of being attached to any share of the recovery. In a few States, you must pay the manufacturing business* lawyer's fees if you lose.
Consumers ought to place their concerns in writing and save a copy. In every written correspondence, always describe how taxing it is to take the automobile to the car dealership for corrections and that the dependability that the purchaser believed He was buying has been non-existent. Any written correspondence with a car dealership or maker ought to be sent using certified mail service. In many instances the manufacturing business* claim that they have not had the needed number of endeavors to remedy the defect. They assume on the fact that the purchaser does not retain repair tickets for each occurance they have taken the vehicle into the authorized dealership. They also assume on the possibility that the repair tickets have seperate items repaired each occurance showing that they haven't repaired the same defect. Consumers should reply by asking that dealerships always send them a warranty repair sheet. Consumers ought to also argue that these unwritten trips are efforts.
Make sure to be mindful of your rights under the lemon laws. Upon purchase, immediately scan your owner's folder and warranty info thoroughly, along with the data pertaining lemon law rights which you ought to receive when you choose your automobile. Don't count on your dealership to teach you what defects are covered by warranty. If your dealership states that a defect is not covered and you think that he is decieving you, be civil but assertive. Don't be afraid to go over the segment of the warranty that applies, or to call the manufacturer for confirmation applying the contact information included with your owner's folder. You shouldn't be obliged pay for corrections related to lemon law complaints. It's also crucial to notify the manufacturer of a complaint immediately. If you believe that your car has a problem what just can't be repaired, go over 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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