Customers stuck with lemon vehicles are curious how long a California lemon lawsuit may take. The answer to this question depends on a large variety of factors, including the strength of your lemon law case and the amount of reimbursement you want the manufacturer to pay you.
Even the best lemon law attorney cannot pin-point how long it will take to settle a lemon lawsuit. So if the lawyer swears that he will settle the case in a week don`t believe him. The attorney dealing with lemon law cases can only estimate how long will the suit last proceeding from the case details and his own experience.
Lemon law case can be resolved quickly only in case the automaker gives his consent to settle it. If the manufacturer refuses to settle the case the lawyer cannot oblige him to do it. As stated by the law if the automaker doesn`t respond to customer`s or attorney`s letter and doesn`t agree to settle the case within a month (30 days) the lawyer has right to file a claim against it.
As a rule, automakers immediately agree to settle strong cases. For instance, if a car owner experiences serious problems with brakes, transmission or engine, and the problem hasn`t been fixed after 4-5 attempts, the manufacturer will most likely offer the customer to repurchase the defective car or replace it with brand new one. But if the automaker doubts if the case is strong enough to be won in the court the manufacturer can refuse to pay for the car or replace it. In this case, the suit is probably to go to the court, and its continuance and outcome are mainly conditioned by skills and experience of your lemon law lawyer.
Lemon law case settlement may be prolonged due to some minor factors. For instance, if the lawsuit is filed on the eve of holidays (Christmas, New Year or Thanksgiving) lawyers will need more time to collect evidence as witnesses and experts are difficult to reach. As a rule vehicle owners are not involved in preparatory works conducted by the attorney, but it`s in their interests to assist the lawyer and follow his recommendations and instructions.
Picking the right lemon law lawyer is crucial when it comes lemon law lawsuit duration. He realizes that`s the client is interested in settling his case as soon as possible irrespective whether he seeks lemon law buyback or monetary recovery, so he will make every effort to move lemon lawsuit along rapidly.
