Utah Lemon Law Firms:
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Utah Code Annotated, § 13-20-1 to § 13-20-7

13-20-1 Short title.

This chapter is known as the "New Motor Vehicles Warranties Act."

13-20-2 Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

(1) "Consumer" means an individual who has entered into an agreement or contract for the transfer, lease, or purchase of a new motor vehicle other than for purposes of resale, or sublease, during the duration of the period defined under Section 13-20-5.

(2) "Manufacturer" means manufacturer, importer, distributor, or anyone who is named as the warrantor on an express written warranty on a motor vehicle.

(3) "Motor home" means a self-propelled vehicular unit, primarily designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational, and vacation use.

(4)

(a) "Motor vehicle" includes: (i) a motor home, as defined in this section, but only the self-propelled vehicle and chassis sold in this state; and

(ii) a motor vehicle, as defined in Section 41-1a-102, sold in this state.

(b) "Motor vehicle" does not include:

(i) those portions of a motor home designated, used, or maintained primarily as a mobile dwelling, office, or commercial space;

(ii) farm tractor, motorcycle, road tractor, or truck tractor as defined in Section 41-1a-102;

(iii) mobile home as defined in Section 41-1a-102; or

(iv) any motor vehicle with a gross laden weight of over 12,000 pounds, except a motor home as defined under Subsection (3).

13-20-3 Nonconforming motor vehicles.

Repairs.

If a new motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable express warranties, and the consumer reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer during the term of the express warranties or during the one-year period following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is earlier, the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer shall make repairs necessary to conform the vehicle to the express warranties, whether or not these repairs are made after the expiration of the warranty term or the one-year period.

13-20-4 Nonconforming motor vehicles.

Replacement; Refund; Criteria; Defenses.

(1) If the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer is unable to conform the motor vehicle to any applicable express warranty by repairing or correcting any defect or condition that substantially impairs the use, market value, or safety of the motor vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall replace the motor vehicle with a comparable new motor vehicle or accept return of the vehicle from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase price including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle. Refunds shall be made to the consumer, and any lien holder's or lessor's as their interests may appear.

(2) A reasonable allowance for use is that amount directly attributable to use by the consumer prior to his first report of the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer, and during any subsequent period when the vehicle is not out of service because of repair.

(3) Upon receipt of any refund or replacement under Subsection (1), the consumer, lien holder, or lessor shall furnish to the manufacturer clear title to and possession of the motor vehicle.

(4) It is an affirmative defense to any claim under this chapter:

(a) that an alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair the consumer's use of the motor vehicle and does not substantially impair the market value or safety of the motor vehicle; or

(b) that an alleged nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications or alterations of a motor vehicle by a consumer.

13-20-5 Reasonable number of attempts to conform.

(1) It is presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable express warranties, if:

(a) the same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer within the express warranty term or during the one-year period following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is earlier, but the nonconformity continues to exist; or

(b) the vehicle is out of service to the consumer because of repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more business days during the warranty term or during the one-year period, whichever is earlier.

(2) The term of an express warranty, the one-year period, and the 30-day period shall be extended by any period of time during which repair services are not available to the consumer because of a war, invasion, strike, fire, flood, or other natural disaster.

13-20-6 Enforcement.

Limited liability of dealer; No limit on other rights or remedies.

(1) The Division of Consumer Protection shall, or a consumer may, enforce the rights created under this chapter. An action may be commenced by a consumer only after the claim has been investigated and evaluated by the division.

(2) This chapter may not be interpreted as imposing any liability on an authorized dealer or creating a cause of action by a consumer against a dealer under this chapter, except regarding any written express warranties made by the dealer apart from the manufacturer's own warranties.

(3) This chapter does not limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a consumer under any other law.

(4) In an action initiated under this section by the consumer, the court may award attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.

13-20-7 Use of dispute settlement procedure.

If a manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure which complies with Title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 703, then Section 13-20-4 concerning refunds or replacement does not apply to any consumer who has not first resorted to this procedure.

Essentially, the Lemon Laws provide that if you purchase (and in several states, lease) a brand new or pre-owned vehicle or other vehicle covered by a manufacturer's warranty that does not work consistently, and the original maker can't rebuild it in spite of persistent attempts (inside a defined time limit that varies from state to state), or if the item is out of service for a set time period (generally 30 days) due to its shortcomings, you are qualified to a broad range of damage settlements, including:

1. Money damages
2. A return of the original money paid
3. A new vehicle
Also, virtually all the Lemon Laws (as well as the Federal Warranty Law) have a fee changing component which stipulates that if you win your lawsuit, the original maker or dealer that sold you the lemon is required to repay litigation fees.


Lemon Law Statutes
State-specific Lemon Law Regulations
Each of the 50 states has a unique Lemon Law statute. Even though the protections of each state's statute are different, the general state Lemon Law statute provides aid for consumers with a broken-down auto covered by a warranty if:

1. The dealer or original maker just can't genuinely fix a specific deficiency in the automobile after a fair number of repair efforts (normally at least three);
2. The car can't be driven for at least 30 days due to problems in the automobile; or
3. The dealer or original maker just can't repair a flaw that is a considerable safety hazard.

Most of the time, a faulty vehicle is a automobile with a condition or condition that frequently impares its use, marketability, or safety to the consumer and doesn't maintain the standard of the warranty. Frequently, the period during which the Lemon Laws are applicable are rather short; the troubles and resulting repair attempts (or out-of-service period) generally must occur during the first 2-years or 24,000 miles the owner has the vehicle. However, a number of states have even shorter periods. Moreover, almost all states have notice and trigger prerequisites, such as expecting the consumer to send registered post notice to the manufacturing business of the faults and establishing the dealer an opportunity to correct the automobile. Additionally, some states necessitate that Lemon Law lawsuits be solved through an arbitration system.

Generally, state Lemon Law regulations also are applicable to leased automobiles and preowned automobiles purchased whilst under the manufacturer's original warranty. A good number of state Lemon Laws also are applicable to automobiles other than passenger automobiles. depending upon the purchaser's home state, or the state in which the consumer bought the vehicle, Lemon Laws may be applicable to:

-RV's
-Motorcycles
-Boats
-Other consumer items (like computers)
There are many significant solutions possible under the Lemon Laws. US Statesally, if the manufacturing business can't correct the vehicle, the consumer may either call for the manufacturing business to replace the car, or force the manufacturer to reposess the car and payback the original cost plus accompanying damages, like all bills, towing fees, repair charges, alternative transportation costs and other damages incurred by the consumer as a result of the faults in the car. Another important solution possible under most Lemon Laws is litigation expenses. In most states, if you prevail in a Lemon Law case, you do not have to pay any laywers' bills-the motor vehicle original equipment manufacturer that sold you your lemon is required to pay your laywers' fees.

The defendant auto manufacturer can employ many defenses to a Lemon Law claim. The standard statute affords that the maker is not responsible if it can prove that the defects at issue came about because of harm, neglect, or the modification or tampering of a motor vehicle by a party other than the original producer, an agent, or an authorized dealer. Put differently, if the consumer abuses his or her own car, or the flaws were the fault of modifications or changes performed by an unauthorized party, the original producer could not be guilty.


Federal Lemon Law Statutes
The Magnuson Moss Act
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal law that regulates consumer goods warranties. Ratified by Congress in 1975, the Magnuson Moss Act requires makers and sellers of consumer products to provide consumers comprehensive facts about warranty coverage benefits. Also, it sets both the rights of consumers and the obligations of warrantors under original warranties.

Even though the Magnuson Moss Act doesn't require an automobile maker to supply customers with a warranty, if a warranty is provided, the Magnuson Moss Act provides numerous protections for the consumer. The Magnuson Moss Act makes it more easy for customers to sue for violating the warranty by making breach of warranty noncompliance of federal law, and by allowing for purchasers to recuperate court charges and reasonable attorneys' fees.

The Magnuson Moss Act is typically useful in a lemon situation in which, for some reason, a state Lemon Law claim is unavailable or moreover unfavorable. For example, divaricate from the rather short time period offered to customers inside most Lemon Laws, you could file a claim for breach of warranty after the warranty period has passed if the troubles occurred during the warranty period. Moreover, although a few Lemon Laws restrict their coverage benefits to a narrow offering of cars, the Magnuson Moss Act is relevant to near all consumer items. The Magnuson Moss Act could also apply if you purchased or leased a preowned vehicle without a manufacturing business warranty, or if the vehicle is covered by a service contract or other form of extended warranty.


The Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (referred to as "UCC") has been ratified in every U.S. state. It is the principal basis of law governing product warranties, including automobiles and other items. The UCC offers an alternative legal course for consumers with lemon troubles.

UCC code states that the consumer of a product is entitled to return merchandise which do not perform in any regard to the warranty. Fundamentally, if your new vehicle does not operate as established by the manufacturing business (your original warranty is part of your agreement), you can file a claim citing the UCC in addition to whatever additional claims you might have.

The period of time for bringing back a automobile with the UCC is not unlimited. If you come upon a flaw in your automobile within a sensible review time period, you can reject the motor vehicle. Unfortunately, brand new motor vehicles can be often mechanically complicated and you might not know whether your motor vehicle conforms to the agreement till long after you purchase the motor vehicle and defects start to come up. Therefore, if Long after this review time you don't reject the motor vehicle, you will be alleged to have okayed it and might have no claim through the UCC.

The duration of the review time period is not specified in the statute. State courts decide how long the reasonable inspection period is based on the consumer's proficiency and experience, the consumer's difficulty in seeing the gremlin, and the consumer's opportunity to come across the problem.

In spite of this limit, the UCC states that in certain examples where a purchaser is said to have accepted products (i.e. the reasonable inspection period has elapsed), a purchaser may still take back his approval of those goods where the non-conformity largely degrades the marketability of the goods to him. Those cases include circumstances in which it proves challenging to discover the nonconformity or the purchaser was ensured that the non-conformity would be fixed. In other words, the local court will exempt the purchaser from not having rejected the goods where the purchaser could not have sensibly done so, or where the manufacturer promised the buyer that the problems would be repaired.
Once a vehicle excessively breaks down and you have to keep taking it back to the dealership for repair under the written warranty, the car lemon law can be your next recourse. The problem should be significant in which it hampers your driving the motor vehicle or your safety. A motor vehicle stalling frequently would be a significant problem. This is exactly the type of condition that can stymie your driving and your safety. Under the automobile lemon law you are not obliged to prove why the motor vehicle is stalling, you simply have to verify that it is stalling. Essentially you need to check out the lemon law in these 3 instances: the motor vehicle keeps breaking down within the warranty time period, the motor vehicle is a safety hazard, the dealership is incapable to restore the motor vehicle when it is guaranteed.

If you own a motor vehicle which is a lemon you can directly write to the manufacturing business and ask for another equivalent motor vehicle. If this requirement is not acceptable to the manufacturing business, you can start into an arbitration process. A few manufacturing business* use their own arbitration program. Other manufacturing business* utilise third party arbitration program such as Autoline by the Better Business Bureau. The assessment 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 laws specify that the consumer ought to be returned back to the fiscal status they were in prior to purchasing the car, less the amount that the consumer profited from by using the car. To get the repayment total many elements are considered such as was it a sale or a lease, the purchase price, taxes and license, and mileage etc.
Some nearly new used automobiles will qualify under basic lemon laws. For example, a pre-owned motor vehicle might fall under regular lemon laws if it is less than one year old and has less than 12,000 miles on the odometer. States which do have a used motor vehicle lemon law will be extra accommodative with the age and amount of mileage. Still, the motor vehicle must be sold by a dealer that extends a warranty. Individual sales are not involved, nor are vehicles sold under a specific price paid. There may be other restrictions to a used car lemon law such as the purposes for which the car is pre-owned or the classification of car. Classic motor vehicles, are usually excluded from used motor vehicle lemon laws. Used motor vehicle lemon laws commonly cover a much shorter time period than new motor vehicle laws. They frequently range from 30 to 90 days, depending on your pre-owned car's mileage.
When finding a lawyer 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 attorneys demand a generally humble retainer to cover a lemon law claim, and thereafter, the lawyer's fees are charged to the original producer. Fundamentally, lemon law claims are typically very low-cost to purchasers. The reimbursement of lawyer fees differs from state to state. About one-half of the states permit you to recoup your Lawyer fees if you win. The lawyer's fee is based on actual time expended instead of being bound to any portion of the recovery. In a select few States, you will pay the manufacturer's lawyer's invoices if you lose.

Consumers ought to put their charges in writing and retain a copy. In any written correspondence, always describe how problematic it is to take the car to the car dealership for work and that the reliableness that the consumer believed She was receiving has been non-existent. Any written correspondence with a dealer or original producer needs to be sent using certified postal service. In many claims the manufacturing business* claim that they haven't had the required number of attempts to correct the condition. They assume on the fact that the consumer does not file repair orders for each time they have brought the car into the dealership. They also rely on the fact that the repair orders have different things fixed each instance evidencing that they have not fixed the same condition. Consumers ought to reply by requiring that sellers always hand them a warranty repair sheet. Consumers should also debate that these unrecorded trips are attempts.

Make sure to be knowledgeable of your lemon law rights. Upon purchase, immediately review your owner's binder and warranty references completely, as well as the reference with respect to lemon law rights which you should receive when you choose your car. Don't depend on your dealership to identify which troubles are covered by warranty. If your dealership states that a condition is not covered and you believe that he is purposely misleading you, be polite but self-asserting. Don't be scared to go over the section of the warranty that applies, or to call the manufacturer for confirmation utilizing the contact info included inside your owner's binder. You shouldn't be obliged pay for corrections associated to lemon law complaints. It's also important to give notice the manufacturer of a complaint promptly. If you believe that your automobile has a problem what just can not be repaired, check out 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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