WHAT IS A “SUBSTANTIAL IMPAIRMENT”

In New Jersey New Car Lemon Law and New Jersey breach of warranty cases, the threshold test for whether a consumer can reject a car and seek money damages is whether the automobile or product’s defect substantially impairs the value of the goods to the buyer.  Under New Jersey law, whether a defect or nonconformity substantially impairs the use or value of the subject vehicle is not measured by a purely objective standard.  Instead, when making such a determination, the factfinder must consider the viewpoint of the buyer and the buyer’s circumstances and decide whether a reasonable person in the buyer’s position would have believed that the defects or nonconformities substantially impaired the vehicle’s use or value.  Accordingly, the substantial impairment test is a combination of a subjective and objective test rather than merely an objective one.  The mixed subjective/objective test allows the factfinder to consider a consumer’s reasonably shaken confidence in the vehicle as a factor in determining substantial impairment.  The standard is subjective or personal in the sense that the facts must be examined in the viewpoint of the buyer and her circumstances but the standard is objective in the sense that the criteria is what a reasonable person in the buyer’s position would have believed.  For example, under the New Jersey New Car Lemon Law, the factfinder puts themselves in the buyer’s shoes and tries to determine if the buyer’s belief that that the automobile’s defects seriously affect the buyer’s ability to use the automobile, seriously affect the safe operation of the vehicle or seriously impair its value, such as by reducing its resale value.  Under New Jersey warranty law, an automobile, boat or other product’s value is substantially impaired if its defects affect its value in some serious way, such as by reducing its resale value.  Under the New Jersey New Car Lemon Law, trivial defects do not substantially impair an automobile’s use, value or safety.  Likewise, under New Jersey Warranty Law, trivial defects do not likely substantially impair a boat or other product’s use, value or safety.     

WHAT IS “SHAKEN CONFIDENCE”?

When deciding whether an automobile’s use, value or safety is substantially impaired by its defects or whether a boat or other product’s value is substantially impaired by its defects, an important factor is whether the defect “shakes the buyer’s confidence” in the goods.   For example, an automobile’s use, safety or value is substantially impaired where its nonconformity causes a loss of the buyer’s confidence in the automobile.  For example, the purchase of a new car is a major investment rationalized by the peace of mind that flows from its dependability and safety.  Once the purchaser’s faith has been shaken, the vehicle loses not only its real value in their eyes, but it becomes an instrument whose integrity is substantially impaired and whose operation is fraught with apprehension. 

WHAT IS A LEMON AUTOMOBILE UNDER NEW JERSEY LEMON LAWS?

A "lemon" automobile is one that exhibits a “substantial impairment” following one or more repair attempts made to it.  For new vehicles, contrary to much misinformation spread amongst consumers, a vehicle does not necessarily have to be out of service for 20 or more days or undergo a certain number of repairs to qualify as a lemon.    New Jersey’s lawmakers decided that, since new automobiles were expensive to buy and lease the public should be protected from new lemon automobiles by having a right to sue the manufacturers of new lemon automobiles for a refund of the automobile’s purchase or lease price, less deductions for how many miles the defective vehicle had when the defect was first reported to the manufacturer or its authorized dealership and for wear and tear.  Also since many used car dealers committed fraud when selling used cars, New Jersey’s lawmakers decided that the public should be protected from used lemon automobiles by having a right to sue used car dealers who sold used lemon automobiles.

WHAT IF I THINK MY FACTS DO NOT FIT THE LEMON LAW?

You should always speak with an attorney before coming to any conclusions about your claim.  Do not try to interpret the law by reading a website!  However, even if the facts of your case do not fit the requirements of the New Jersey New Car Lemon Law or New Jersey Used Car Lemon Law, you may be entitled to sue the manufacturer or its selling dealer for a breach of your warranties under other state and federal laws.  If the dealer or manufacturer breached the warranties that came with your automobile, you may be able to recover money damages, attorney’s fees and court costs.

WHAT IS A BREACH OF WARRANTY UNDER NEW JERSEY LAW?

Breach of warranty claims involve vehicles, parts or labor that were sold with a warranty.  Usually, the case is one where a dealership makes repeated repairs to your car under the warranty for the same problem but couldn’t fix it.    One such law that may help you get relief from such a problem is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act).  Under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, to recover money damages, the following minimum requirements must be met:

·          

·         the vehicle or product must be a new or used “consumer product” distributed in commerce and normally used for personal, family, or household purposes.

·         A written warranty or service contract was provided with the product.

·         You must be a “consumer'' -- a buyer (other than for purposes of resale) of the vehicle or other consumer product, a person to whom the vehicle or product was transferred during the duration of an implied or written warranty (or service contract) applicable to the vehicle or product, or any other person entitled by the terms of such warranty (or service contract) or under applicable State law to enforce against the warrantor (or service contractor) the obligations of the warranty (or service contract).

·         The issuer of the warranty or service contract failed to comply with the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act or failed to honor the terms of its warranty or service contract.

The Magnuson Moss Warranty Act covers most consumer products sold or leased with a warranty or service contract and that is normally used for personal, family or household purposes, such as vehicles, mobile homes, computers, appliances, agricultural products, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing components, etc.   Many services are excluded under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act and often the question of whether a warranty or service contract is regulated by the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act is for the courts to decide.

From buyer’s standpoint the very purpose of the warranty is to provide goods that conform to the contract and do so in an appropriate time.  If an automobile, boat or other product undergoes repairs under a warranty by its manufacturer or seller for a defect and they cannot fix the defect in a reasonable period of time, the buyer may lose the substantial benefit of the buyer’s purchase and that buyer may be entitled to seek damages against the offending party.  For example, suppose you buy a new automobile sold with a manufacturer’s warranty, its engine light comes on and you take it to the manufacturer’s automobile dealership 3 times for that problem to be fixed but after 3 times, the problem is still present.  You may be able to sue the vehicle’s manufacturer for money damages because they failed to fix the defect after a reasonable opportunity to do so.  New cars should not have a check engine light come on 3 times after three attempts to fix the problem.

CAN I HANDLE A NEW JERSEY LEMON LAW OR NEW JERSEY WARRANTY DISPUTE BY MYSELF?

Some people can and do successfully handle cases themselves, from filing the first paperwork to the collection of a judgment.  However, many other people also make mistakes that lead to the dismissal of their cases or that result in the entry of a money judgment against them.  The greater the money at stake, the greater the reason to consider using the services of a competent attorney licensed to practice law in New Jersey to handle part or all of the case.  The following are reasons to use an attorney to handle part or all of your case:

·         court fees often change

·         court rules often change

·         court employees cannot give you “free” legal advice and a judge may refuse to let you claim that you were right in taking an action (or in deciding not to take action) because you relied on advice from such employees

·         court forms available on websites may not cover every situation you may face in court

·         each case has its own particular legal issues and therefore, its own challenges

·         it is very common for people to file inadequate or incorrect complaints that result in the complaints or answers to complaints being rejected by the court or being dismissed by the court after filing and before or after trial because of procedural deficiencies  

·         it is not uncommon for judges to get very frustrated by an unrepresented party’s lack of preparation or ignorance of the facts or law of the case. 

·         a court has the power to punish unprepared parties or parties who make mistakes, such as by throwing their case out of court or limiting what they can present at trial. 

·         New Jersey has many published cases, laws, regulations, court rules and rules of evidence that are very tricky and that can be used to prevent you from doing much of what you want to do at trial. 

·         it is very common for courts to refuse to allow a party to use or refer to documents or items at trial that the person themselves never prepared.  Often parties stumble into court with a video, photograph, bill or affidavit or other form of written statement, thinking they are going to use it as proof that they lost money or that they are not responsible for someone else’s damages, only to have a judge tell the parties that it is not going to even consider such items or documents. 

·         without the proper preparation, items and documents may never be considered by the court.  Also, if there are any legal issues to be dealt with at trial, you must be prepared to argue them, which may require you to refer to court rules, evidence rules, laws, regulations or published cases. 

·         you cannot show up at court expecting the judge hearing your case to explain court rules, evidence rules, court procedure or the details of the law that applies to your case.  The judge hearing your case is not permitted to give you legal advice.

It is important to remember that even if you have an attorney, you could lose your case.  No attorney can guarantee results in civil disputes.  Hiring an attorney to handle part or all of your case does not guarantee your success.  However, it may provide the assistance you need to win your case, to settle your case or to avoid certain mistakes.

DOES THE LAW OFFICE OF PAUL DEPETRIS HAVE EXPERIENCE HANDLING NEW JERSEY LEMON LAW DISPUTES?

Yes.  Paul DePetris has performed the following tasks:

·         represented consumers, junk yard dealers, automobile purchasers and owners, new and used car dealers, banks and automotive lenders, boat purchasers and owners, watercraft purchasers and owners and marinas in New Jersey Lemon Law and/or New Jersey Warranty Law and/or New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and/or New Jersey Contract disputes.

·         appeared in court in cases involving New Jersey Lemon Law and New Jersey Warranty Law disputes.

·         mediated, arbitrated and tried New Jersey Lemon Law cases and New Jersey Warranty Law disputes.

·         settled New Jersey Lemon Law cases and New Jersey Warranty Law disputes.

·         won court awards in New Jersey Lemon Law cases and New Jersey Warranty Law disputes.

·         won judgments in New Jersey Lemon Law cases and New Jersey Warranty Law disputes.

Mr. DePetris has appeared before the Superior Court of New Jersey in the following counties:

Mr. DePetris has also appeared in federal courts - the District of New Jersey in Camden, Trenton and Newark and in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. DePetris is also the author of the following publications:  New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act & Forms (New Jersey Law Journal Books, 2007); Learned Professionals, Licensed Semiprofessionals and the Consumer Fraud Act:  The Origins of the Licensed Professionals’ Doctrine (New Jersey Lawyer, Oct. 2008); and Liability For Consumer Fraud In Real Estate Transactions (New Jersey Law Journal, March 18, 2009).   Mr. DePetris also gives seminars on the New Jersey Lemon Law.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO HANDLE MY CASE FROM BEGINNING TO END?

In many situations, the Law Office of Paul DePetris offers alternatives to handling cases for an hourly fee, such as by offering to prepare the court paperwork for you or helping you handle your claim by yourself.  Such flexible methods may allow you to keep the amount legal fees you spend on your case to a fixed sum, while providing you the help you need to handle your case.  For a no cost phone consultation about what the Firm might be able to do for you, call or write an email to Mr. DePetris at:  609-714-2020 or consumerlaw@newjerseylemon.com.