Mississippi Lemon Law Firms and the Mississippi lemon law code.

Mississippi Code Annotated, 63-17-151 to 63-17-165

63-17-151 Short title.

Sections 63-17-151 et seq. shall be known and may be cited as the "Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act".

63-17-153 Legislative findings and declaration of purpose.

The Legislature recognizes that a motor vehicle is a major consumer purchase and that a defective motor vehicle creates a hardship for the consumer. The Legislature further recognizes that a duly franchised motor vehicle dealer is an agent of the manufacturer. It is the intent of the Legislature that a good faith motor vehicle warranty complaint by a consumer should be resolved by the manufacturer, or its agent, within a specified period of time. It is further the intent of the Legislature to provide the statutory procedures whereby a consumer may receive a replacement motor vehicle, or a full refund, for a motor vehicle which cannot be brought into conformity with the express warranty issued by the manufacturer. However, nothing in Sections 63-17-153 et seq. shall in any way limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a consumer under any other law.

63-17-155 Definitions.

As used in Sections 63-17-151 et seq. the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Collateral charges" means those additional charges to a consumer which are not directly attributable to the manufacturer's suggested retail price label for the motor vehicle. For the purposes of Sections 63-17-151 et seq. collateral charges shall include, but not be limited to, dealer preparation charges, undercoating charges, transportation charges, towing charges, replacement car rental costs and title charges.

(b) "Comparable motor vehicle" means an identical or reasonably equivalent motor vehicle.

(c) "Consumer" means the purchaser, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor vehicle, primarily used for personal, family, or household purposes, and any person to whom such motor vehicle is transferred for the same purposes during the duration of an express warranty applicable to such motor vehicle, and any other person entitled by the terms of such warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty.

(d) "Express warranty" means any written affirmation of fact or promise made in connection with the sale of a motor vehicle by a supplier to a consumer which relates to the nature of the material or workmanship and affirms or promises that such material or workmanship is defect-free or will meet a specified level of performance over a specified period of time. For the purposes of Sections 63-17-151 et seq. express warranties do not include implied warranties.

(e) "Manufacturer" means a manufacturer or distributor as defined in Section 63-17-55.

(f) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle propelled by power other than muscular power which is sold in this state, is operated over the public streets and highways of this state and is used as a means of transporting persons or property, but shall not include vehicles run only upon tracks, off-road vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, or parts and components of a motor home which were added on and/or assembled by the manufacturer of the motor home. "Motor vehicle" shall include demonstrators or lease-purchase vehicles as long as a manufacturer's warranty was issued as a condition of sale.

(g) "Purchase price" means the price which the consumer paid to the manufacturer to purchase the motor vehicle in a cash sale or, if the motor vehicle is purchased in a retail installment transaction, the cash sale price as defined in Section 63-19-3.

63-17-157 Repair of nonconforming vehicle.

For the purposes of Sections 63-17-151 et seq., if a new motor vehicle does not conform to all applicable express warranties, and the consumer reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer or its agent during the term of such express warranties or during the period of one (1) year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer, whichever period expires earlier, the manufacturer or its agent shall make such repairs as are necessary to conform the vehicle to such express warranties, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of such term or such one-year period.

63-17-159. Replacement of vehicle or refund of purchase price.

Where nonconformity cannot be corrected; affirmative defenses; presumption of reasonable attempts to conform vehicle to warranties; extension of warranties; notice requirements relating to repair of nonconformity; civil actions.

(1) If the manufacturer or its agent cannot conform the motor vehicle to any applicable express warranty by repairing or correcting any default or condition which impairs the use, market value, or safety of the motor vehicle to the consumer after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer shall give the consumer the option of having the manufacturer either replace the motor vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle acceptable to the consumer, or take title of the vehicle from the consumer and refund to the consumer the full purchase price, including all reasonably incurred collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle. The subtraction of a reasonable allowance for use shall apply when either a replacement or refund of the motor vehicle occurs. A reasonable allowance for use shall be that sum of money arrived at by multiplying the number of miles the motor vehicle has been driven by the consumer by Twenty Cents (20 per mile. Refunds shall be made to the consumer and lien holder of record, if any, as their interests may appear.

(2) It shall be an affirmative defense to any claim under Sections 63-17-151 et seq. that:

(a) An alleged nonconformity does not impair the use, market value or safety of the motor vehicle;

(b) A nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modifications or alterations of a motor vehicle by a consumer;

(c) A claim by a consumer was not filed in good faith; or

(d) Any other affirmative defense allowed by law.

(3) It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to the applicable express warranties if within the terms, conditions or limitations of the express warranty, or during the period of one (1) year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever expires earlier, either:

(a) Substantially the same nonconformity has been subject to repair three (3) or more times by the manufacturer or its agent and such nonconformity continues to exist; or

(b) The vehicle is out of service by reason of repair of the nonconformity by the manufacturer or its agent for a cumulative total of fifteen (15) or more working days, exclusive of downtime for routine maintenance as prescribed by the owner's manual, since the delivery of the vehicle to the consumer. The fifteen-day period may be extended by any period of time during which repair services are not available to the consumer because of conditions beyond the control of the manufacturer or its agent.

(4) The terms, conditions or limitations of the express warranty, or the period of one (1) year following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever expires earlier, may be extended if the motor vehicle warranty problem has been reported but has not been repaired by the manufacturer or its agent by the expiration of the applicable time period.

(5) The manufacturer shall provide a list of the manufacturer's zone or regional service office addresses in the owner's manual provided with the motor vehicle. It shall be the responsibility of the consumer or his representative, prior to availing himself of the provisions of this section, to give written notification to the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the nonconformity, in order to allow the manufacturer an opportunity to cure the alleged defect. The manufacturer shall immediately notify the consumer of a reasonably accessible repair facility to conform the vehicle to the express warranty. After delivery of the vehicle to the designated repair facility by the consumer, the manufacturer shall have ten (10) working days to conform the motor vehicle to the express warranty. Upon notification from the consumer that the vehicle has not been conformed to the express warranty, the manufacturer shall inform the consumer if an informal dispute settlement procedure has been established by the manufacturer in accordance with Section 63-17-163, and provide the consumer with a copy of the provisions of Sections 63-17-151 et seq. However, if prior notice by the manufacturer of an informal dispute settlement procedure has been given, no further notice is required. If the manufacturer fails to notify the consumer of the availability of this informal dispute settlement procedure, the requirements of Section 63-17-163 shall not apply.

(6) Any action brought under Sections 63-17-151 et seq. shall be commenced within one (1) year following expiration of the terms, conditions or limitations of the express warranty, or within eighteen (18) months following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is earlier, or, if a consumer resorts to an informal dispute settlement procedure as provided in Sections 63-17-151 et seq., within ninety (90) days following the final action of the panel.

(7) If a consumer finally prevails in any action brought under Sections 63-17-151 et seq., the court may allow him to recover as part of the judgment a sum equal to the aggregate amount of costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on actual time expended, determined by the court to have been reasonably incurred by the plaintiff for or in connection with the commencement and prosecution of such action.

63-17-161 Liability of consumer for bad faith claims.

Any claim by a consumer which is found by the court to have been filed in bad faith, or solely for the purpose of harassment, or in complete absence of a justifiable issue of either law or fact raised by the consumer, shall result in the consumer being liable for all court costs incurred by the manufacturer or its agent as a direct result of the bad faith claim.

63-17-163 Necessity for resort to informal dispute settlement procedure.

If a manufacturer has established an informal dispute settlement procedure which complies in all respects with the provisions of 16 C.F.R., Part 703, the provisions of Section 63-17-159 concerning refunds or replacements shall not apply to any consumer who has not first resorted to such procedure.

63-17-165 Remedies for violations.

Any violation of Sections 63-17-151 et seq. shall be subject to the rights and remedies as provided for by Chapter 24, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Essentially, the Lemon Laws stipulate that if you purchase (and in most states, lease) a brand new or pre-owned vehicle or other car covered by a manufacturer's warranty that does not work consistently, and the original producer can't repair it even with repeated efforts (in a limited time that varies from state to state), or if the car is not drivable for a stipulated period (typically 30 days) because of its defects, you are entitled to a wide number of abuses, inclusive of:

1. Money restitution
2. A refund of the cost
3. A brand new vehicle
Moreover, nearly all of the Lemon Laws (as well as the Federal Warranty Law) incorporate a fee switching element which provides that if you win your case, the manufacturing business or dealership that sold you the lemon is obliged to pay laywers' fees.


Lemon Law Statutes
State-specific Lemon Law Regulations
Each of the 50 states has its own Lemon Law statute. Even though the wording of each state's statute vary, the general state Lemon Law statute offers remedy for consumers with a faulty motor vehicle covered by a warranty if:

1. The dealership or manufacturing business cannot legitimately repair a particular fault in the product after a fair number of repair attempts (commonly at least three);
2. The car cannot be driven for at least 30 days due to troubles in the motor vehicle; or
3. The dealer or manufacturing business just can not remedy a failing that is a pressing safety risk.

Most of the time, a bad automobile is a automobile with a condition or affliction that frequently impares its use, value, or safety to the consumer and doesn't maintain the standard of the warranty. In most instances, the period during which the Lemon Laws apply are rather short; the defects and consequential repair efforts (or out-of-service period) usually will happen during the first two-years or 24,000 miles that you own the automobile. However, a number of states have even shorter time periods. Also, almost all states have notification and trigger requirements, such as asking the consumer to send registered post notice to the manufacturing business of the faults and establishing the car dealership an option to remedy the vehicle. In addition, many states necessitate that Lemon Law lawsuits be resolved through an arbitration program.

Generally, state Lemon Law regulation codes also apply to leased cars and used automobiles bought whilst under the manufacturer's basic warranty. A good number of state Lemon Laws also are applicable to automobiles other than passenger vehicles. depending upon the customer's home state, or the state in which the consumer purchased the vehicle, Lemon Laws may be applicable to:

-RV's
-Motorcycles
-Boats
-Other consumer items (such as computers)
There are a number of effective remedies available under the Lemon Laws. American Statesently, if the manufacturing business can't fix the motor vehicle, the consumer can either expect the manufacturing business to replace the vehicle, or obligate the manufacturing business to take back the vehicle and refund the original price paid together with incidental damages, such as all bills, towing fees, repair charges, related travel costs and other costs incurred by the consumer as a result of the faults in the vehicle. Another important resolution available under most Lemon Laws is attorneys' expenses. In many states, if you win in a Lemon Law lawsuit, you will not have to pay any litigation charges-the automobile manufacturing business that sold you your lemon is obligated to pay attorney's expenses.

The defendant car original equipment manufacturer can utilize several defenses to a Lemon Law claim. The average regulation extends that the manufacturer is not guilty if it can establish that the troubles in dispute happened due to malevolence, carelessness, or the alteration or modification of a vehicle by persons other than the maker, its agent, or an authorized repair facility. In other words, if the consumer dismantles his or her own automobile, or the defects were caused by modifications or changes executed by an unauthorized dealer, the maker may not be liable.


Federal Lemon Law Statutes
The Magnuson Moss Act
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal law that regulates consumer merchandise warranties. Ratified by Congress in 1975, the Magnuson Moss Act requires manufacturing business and dealers of consumer commodities to provide consumers with explanatory data about warranty coverage claims. In addition, it shapes both the rights of public consumers and the responsibilities of warrantors under original warranties.

Even though the Magnuson Moss Act does not require an car maker to provide consumers with a warranty, if a warranty is supplied, the Magnuson Moss Act provides various protections for the consumer. The Magnuson Moss Act makes it more easy for consumers to sue for breach of warranty by making breach of warranty an infraction of federal law, and by allowing for purchasers to recoup legal charges and reasonable laywers' fees.

The Magnuson Moss Act is frequently beneficial in a lemon situation where, for some reason, a state Lemon Law claim is not possible or otherwise unfit. For example, divaricate from the rather short cycle offered to customers with many Lemon Laws, you could file a claim for breach of warranty after the warranty period has passed as long as the defects occured during the warranty time period. Additionally, although many Lemon Laws limit their coverage to a very specific group of vehicles, the Magnuson Moss Act applies to just about all consumer products. The Magnuson Moss Act could also apply if you purchased or leased a expended car without a manufacturer's warranty, or if the car is covered by a service agreement or other type of extended warranty.


The Uniform Commercial Code
The Uniform Commercial Code (referred to as "UCC") has been enacted in every state. It is the prime basis of law governing consumer warranties, including cars and other items. The UCC offers another legal channel for customers with lemon problems.

UCC code states that the consumer of a good is entitled to return merchandise which fail in any feature to the agreement. Essentially, if your brand new car does not function as guaranteed by the manufacturing business (your original warranty is a portion of your consumer warranty), you can file a claim referencing the UCC in addition to any additional claims you may have.

The period of time for taking back a vehicle with the UCC is not limitless. If you identify a flaw in your automobile inside a sensible inspection time period, you can reject the automobile. Unfortunately, new vehicles are often mechanically complicated and you may not recognize if your item conforms to the agreement till long after you purchase the item and defects begin to come up. So, if Long after this inspection time period you don't return the item, you will be pronounced to have o.K.ed it and may have no claim through the UCC.

The length of the review time period is not delineated in the regulation. State courts determine how long the reasonable inspection period is based on the buyer's familiarity and past experience, the buyer's difficulty in coming upon the fault, and the buyer's chance to reveal the failing.

In spite of this limitation, the UCC says that in certain cases where a buyer is said to have approved of products (i.e. the reasonable inspection period has elapsed), a buyer can still negate his approval of those goods where the non-conformity largely impares the economic value of the goods to him. Those instances include examples where it was arduous to discover the nonconformity or the buyer was assured that the non-conformity would be remedied. Put differently, the local court will exempt the buyer from not refusing the goods where the buyer 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 taking it back to the dealership for repair under the written warranty, the motor vehicle lemon law may be your next course of action. The gremlin must be substantive in which it prohibits your driving the product or your safety. A product stalling constantly would be a substantive gremlin. This is exactly the type of problem that may hamper your driving and your safety. Under the car lemon law you are not obligated to demonstrate why the auto is stalling, you only have to demonstrate that it is stalling. Basically you need to check over the lemon law in these three cases: the auto keeps dying within the warranty period, the auto is a safety risk, the dealership is incapable to restore the auto when it is warranted.

If you own a product which is a lemon you can immediately write to the original maker and ask for another equivalent product. If this requirement is not satisfactory to the original maker, you could enter into an arbitration arrangement. A few makers have their own arbitration program. Other makers employ outside arbitration program including Autoline by the BBB. The proposal of the arbitrators is binding on the original maker but not on the purchaser. If unsatisfied with the proposal, the purchaser can take the original maker to court.

Virtually all regulations stipulate that the purchaser must be returned back to the fiscal position they were in prior to purchasing the automobile, less the amount that the purchaser profited from by using the automobile. To get the payback 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 nearly new used motor vehicles might qualify under basic lemon laws. For example, a pre-owned auto may fall under regular lemon laws if it is less than 1 year old and has less than 12,000 miles on the odometer. States that do have a used auto lemon law may be more generous with the age and measure of mileage. Still, the car needs to be sold by a car dealership that supplies a written warranty. Private sales are not governed, nor are cars sold under a specific original price paid. There may be additional restrictions to a used car lemon law such as the purposes in which the automobile is utilized or the classification of automobile. Vintage cars, are ordinarily excluded from pre-owned car lemon laws. Used car lemon laws commonly cover a much shorter time period than new car ordinances. They usually range from 30 to 90 days, depending on your used automobile's mileage.
When selecting an attorney for your lemon case, make sure that your lawyer is knowledgeable about the laws that are applicable to your state. Also enquire about the pricing program. Many lemon law lawyers call for a generally modest retainer to handle a lemon law claim, and subsequently, the lawyer's bills are charged to the original producer. Therefore, lemon law claims are normally very low-cost to purchasers. The reimbursement of lawyer bills differs from state to state. About one-half of the states allow for you to recover your Attorney invoices if you win. The attorney's fee is based upon actual time used rather than being bound to any other portion of the recovery. In many States, you must pay the manufacturing business* attorney's fees if you lose.

Consumers ought to place their concerns in writing and keep a copy. In any written correspondence, always explain how problematic it is to bring the automobile to the dealership for repairs and that the reliability that the customer believed She was acquiring has been non-existent. Any written correspondence with a dealership or original producer ought to be sent using certified mail. In almost all cases the makers claim that they haven't had the requisite number of tries to fix the condition. They bet on the fact that the customer does not retain repair receipts for each time they have driven the auto into the shop. They also depend on the possibility that the repair receipts have seperate parts fixed every period demonstrating that they have not repaired the same problem. Consumers should respond by asking that authorized dealerships always give them a warranty repair ticket. Consumers should also indicate that these unwritten trips are efforts.

Make sure to be knowledgeable of your rights under the lemon laws. Upon purchase, immediately page through your owner's folder and warranty information thoroughly, along with the data concerning lemon law rights that you should receive when you buy your car. Don't depend on your car dealership to show you what defects are covered by warranty. If your dealer states that a problem isn't covered and you think that he or she is decieving you, be polite but self-assertive. Don't be afraid to produce the segment of the warranty that is relevant, or to call the original producer for substantiation applying the contact information included inside your owner's folder. You should not have to pay for repairs associated to lemon law complaints. It's also necessary to notify the original producer of a complaint promptly. If you are suspicious that your automobile has a problem which just can't be fixed, check out your lemon law rights to see when you are able to file 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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