Ever wonder what a lemon law attorney does to ensure your case is strong, to hold the manufacturer accountable for your defective vehicle? What strategies does the attorney have that sway the case your way? How does the lemon law lawyer take your claim and turn it into the compensation you deserve?
It might seem mysterious, how the attorney does it. Behind the scenes in a lemon law case is a proven method made up of these factors:
- A systematic process
- Knowledge of state lemon laws (meaning of laws, plus adherence to rules and deadlines)
- Negotiation skills
- Understanding of manufacturers’ motivations
- Anticipation of potential obstacles to success
- Perseverance to the goal
Let’s look at these points and see how a lemon law attorney uses all of these skills to win your case.
Systematic Process
The lemon law attorney is well-acquainted with reviewing claims and determining if a vehicle will qualify as a lemon under your state’s law. The main criteria (and each state has its own additional requirements) is that the vehicle must exhibit a substantial defect that severely impacts its use, value or safety.
Once it’s determined that the vehicle satisfies the requirements to be classified as a lemon, then a systematic process is followed to pursue compensation. This plan includes:
- Review of documentation, such as warranties and all client repair records and correspondence
- Potentially bringing in expert witnesses to back up the claim, demonstrating how the vehicle qualifies as a lemon
- Notifying the manufacturer of the claim
- Representing the client during settlement negotiations, arbitration, or a lawsuit
The attorney will review how many times the vehicle has undergone repair attempts, and then the manufacturer is provided one last attempt at a repair after they are notified of a lemon law claim.
The attorney will keep the client informed on progress and follow the state’s lemon law rules to ensure the case advances according to required tasks and deadlines.
For more information on arbitration and other frequently asked lemon law questions, click here.
Knowledge of State Lemon Laws
By knowing the basis of a state’s lemon law, and staying up to date on any changes to the law (such as updates that address new vehicle technologies, or a state expanding coverage to motorcycles, RVs or other vehicles), the attorney ensures that the client doesn’t miss opportunities.
For example, California in 2025 has updated its lemon laws to require notification to the manufacturer at least 30 days before filing for civil penalties. The state also is more stringent earlier in the lemon law process. It requires mediation between the vehicle owner and manufacturer. There are other new stipulations, including a reduced timeframe to make claims and less coverage for used cars, except tightly specified vehicles with manufacturer’s warranties, such as Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles, and dealer and demonstrator vehicles. With these, the warranty has to cover the defect in question.
Critical to a case’s successful conclusion: Deadlines and specific state law requirements are well-known to the attorney. Observing these helps the lawyer move the case towards a positive outcome.
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Negotiation Skills
Important fact: Most lemon law cases settle out of court. An experienced lemon law attorney knows this, and is skilled at negotiating the best compensation outcome for the client. Throughout the process, your lawyer keeps you in the loop with regular updates. They explain each step, so you know exactly what’s happening and when to expect results.
Insight Into Manufacturers’ Motivations
Manufacturers are not motivated to provide maximum compensation. They will try to delay, deny, or dismiss your claim. It’s the attorney’s job to hold the manufacturer accountable.
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Here’s an example of how the attorney fights back against manufacturer claim denials:
The manufacturer replies to your claim that the issue with your vehicle isn’t “substantial” as defined under state lemon law. Your attorney brings in several expert witnesses who point to the persistent nature of the problem, which in this case, makes the vehicle unsafe to drive. It’s this extra legwork by the attorney to dig deeper with experts who validate your claim, which can make a real difference in your case’s outcome.
Anticipation of Potential Obstacles to Success
Bumps in the road and delays happen, and the experienced lemon law attorney anticipates these and builds these potential scenarios into the plan. Instead of seeing them as dead ends, they are part of the process that leads to the final goal of compensation for the client.
Here’s where a lemon law attorney provides an advantage: Sometimes a case is won, yet the manufacturer may for some reason refuse or delay providing compensation. The attorney then will stand firm, knowing that this can happen, and the client’s rights must be protected.
The attorney can file a motion to enforce the judgment and pursue additional penalties, so the client will be compensated for the unwarranted delay. It’s this proactive work by the attorney that shows manufacturers that they must be accountable in lemon law cases.
Perseverance
As stated above, the attorney is always pushing forward with a proactive approach, always keeping clients’ rights in mind, persevering until they reach the goal of maximum compensation. This work by the attorney doesn’t end until the client has received the chosen compensation, either replacement or a refund.
Lemon laws are confusing. Read our guide to the lemon law complaint process.
Replacement and refund defined: With a replacement, the vehicle must be the same or comparable to the original one the client purchased. For a refund, the consumer receives back the purchase price of the vehicle (minus a small charge for mileage driven). All client expenses related to the case, such as towing and rental cars and fees, will be taken into account as well when pursuing compensation.
Federal law protections: To persevere in a lemon law case is to use every avenue available to protect the client’s rights. A key focus for a lemon law attorney is leveraging federal laws to do this. There is no federal lemon law, but the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act can be used to hold manufacturers accountable.
“The Act also makes warranties enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission, giving the FTC the means to better protect consumers.”
When state lemon laws fall short, the attorney can potentially make a claim using this federal law, with claims possible four years after the vehicle purchase, and in some cases, even longer. It can be used to fight back against breach of warranty issues. Compensation includes payment by the manufacturer of the claimant’s attorney fees.
Trust Allen Stewart, P.C. for Expert Lemon Law Representation
Now that you know what a lemon law lawyer does to win your case, there’s no need to delay consulting our attorneys about your claim. Allen Stewart, P.C. encourages you to contact us to take advantage of our free case review. You can also call us to schedule your consultation (866-440-2460).
You can depend on Allen Stewart, P.C. to give you the best opportunity to win your case because:
- We focus on defending clients’ rights;
- Our attorneys fight back against manufacturers who try to minimize, deny, or dismiss claims;
- We aggressively follow through, so each step in the process becomes an asset to the case, leading the client to maximum compensation.
Allen Stewart, P.C. has won many lemon law cases in Texas, California, New York and across the country. You can be assured that the manufacturer will bring their legal team to bear against your claim. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation (866-440-2460). Thanks to federal law, our clients pay nothing out of pocket, so contact us now.