Appeals Court Reverses Fee Cut in Major Lemon Law Case: What It Means for Consumers

An ordinary lemon law case transformed into a case with far reaching implications for California consumers bringing lemon law claims against manufacturers after a panel of judges concluded the attorney fee award was improperly calculated by the judge presiding over the case.

Now, that decision might have significant impacts for how future lemon law cases function in terms of attorneys fees being awarded and how they are calculated.

In this article, we discuss this development in the lemon law world and describe what it could mean for you as a consumer bringing a California lemon law claim. Continue reading to find out more!

What Happened in the Tidrick vs. FCA Case

The case, Tidrick v. FCA US LLC, involved a consumer plaintiff bringing a normal lemon law case after her vehicle was taken to be repaired approximately six times in just ten months.

After Tidrick won her case, she requested about $83,000 in attorneys fees and costs. However, the judge only awarded her $15,000 total because he was applying Fresno County’s standard for calculating attorneys fees, not Orange County’s standard where the underlying case resided.

The judge reasoned, incorrectly according to the panel, that Fresno County standards were proper because that was where Tidrick purchased the lemon and resides.

However, the judge panel disagreed and reversed the decision to award the significantly reduced amount.

Why the Court Reversed the Huge Fee Reduction

The judge panels reasoning comes from their interpretation of venue law and how it applies to lemon law claims.

Venue deals with the particular court a case goes to; for example, a company might include in their contracts that all disputes between users of that company’s service and the company itself take place in a particular state’s courts.

That would be an example of a venue provision. Here, the three judge panel decided that applying the attorney fee calculation of the venue where the case is being tried makes more sense than applying the calculation of the venue where the plaintiff resides or where the incident occurred.

This is largely because the attorneys provided their service to Tidrick in Orange County, not in Fresno County, so the fees should be calculated based on Orange County rates.

How This Ruling Impacts Other Lemon Law Claims in California

This ruling has implications for all lemon law claims in California since it clarifies the standard for how attorneys fees are calculated in lemon law claims.

For example, consumers aware of this ruling might try to bring their cases in places where attorney fee awards can be higher if they anticipate their case being expensive to bring to trial.

Depending on how different venues treat attorney fee payment, particular venues that are more favorable to paying these fees may see a significant increase in lemon law cases being filed there.

This could ultimately slow down the docket in those venues, leading to cases taking longer to be tried and come to a conclusion.

When to Contact Our Lemon Law Experts for a Case Review

If you have been dealing with a vehicle that has been repeatedly repaired for the same or similar issued or has been out of service for an extended period of time during the warranty, you might be dealing with a lemon.

Thankfully, lemon laws exist in most states to protect consumers from being sold defective vehicles.

If you win your case, the manufacturer must replace or repurchase your car so that you can get back on the road without further worries and most often, the manufacturer will be responsible to pay for the consumer’s attorneys fees and costs.

At the Lemon Law Experts, we strive to bring passionate advocacy to each of our client’s cases. In fact, one of the attorneys representing Tidrick in this California lemon law development is a part of our team: Jordan Cohen.

Using his expert knowledge on the lemon law and consumer rights, he helped Tidrick not only bring her lemon law case but shape the ecosystem of California lemon law for cases yet to come.

If expert representation is what you need, contact the Lemon Law Experts today by calling (877) 885-5366 or by filling out an online contact form!