Good for her - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Can't Know · #1 02-01-2012, 10:07 PM

I hope many others follow her lead.

"Honda loses small-claims suit over hybrid MPG

LOS ANGELES — The Southern California owner of a Honda hybrid car won her unusual small-claims court lawsuit against the automaker over the vehicle's failure to deliver its stated fuel economy.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan awarded Heather Peters $9,867 on Wednesday, saying Honda did mislead her about the expected mileage."

Full article here: Honda loses small-claims suit over hybrid MPG - Business - Autos - msnbc.com

kerry · #2 02-01-2012, 10:16 PM

Thanks for posting that. I was curious about how that case was going to turn out.

rs899 · #3 02-02-2012, 06:48 AM

That's great. I hope many other Honda owners follow her lead. I especially like the fact that the scum sucking lawyers aren't involved.

aklim · #4 02-02-2012, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rs899

I especially like the fact that the scum sucking lawyers aren't involved.

Unfortunately, you are wrong there. Honda did send a lawyer into the court or who do you think represented them in small claims court?

Quote:

Peters, a former lawyer

Kinda puts the crimper on that one.

elchivito · #5 02-02-2012, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

Unfortunately, you are wrong there. Honda did send a lawyer into the court or who do you think represented them in small claims court?

Kinda puts the crimper on that one.

No it doesn't. Point being SHE keeps the whole award and doesn't have to cough up a third of it to some lawyer.

aklim · #6 02-02-2012, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elchivito

No it doesn't. Point being SHE keeps the whole award and doesn't have to cough up a third of it to some lawyer.

OTOH, she did have to spend her time to do the filing, service, prepping for the arguments, appearance in court and probably more than once, etc, etc. Being a former lawyer, I assume she has moved to bigger and better things so I have to ask, how much is your time worth? She would have lost $3500 to the lawyer but with all the time spent, is it worth it?

Pavka007 · #7 02-02-2012, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

Unfortunately, you are wrong there. Honda did send a lawyer into the court or who do you think represented them in small claims court?

Kinda puts the crimper on that one.

Nope...the state of CA do not allow lawyers to represent either parties. What Honda have done is send a nominated employee who is NOT a lawyer. His/hers "duty" is to represent Honda but NOT as an attorney. This is the whole point about small claim court. No BS of any sort, you walk in, you speak when you asked to, you lay your facts and the judge is the one that have a say, yes or not. In this case Honda are in trouble big time. If and I will say it again IF any Honda owner for the year and the model of the car is willing and ready to do the leg work and file a small claim they will be out of almost $2 billion

Long live diesel

Pavka007 · #8 02-02-2012, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

OTOH, she did have to spend her time to do the filing, service, prepping for the arguments, appearance in court and probably more than once, etc, etc. Being a former lawyer, I assume she has moved to bigger and better things so I have to ask, how much is your time worth? She would have lost $3500 to the lawyer but with all the time spent, is it worth it?

Aklim, read the whole story, it took her 2 court appearances and yes some time but for $10 000 clean and clear?? Come on , she done a great job. To answer your question: YES it is worth all the time and effort.
With a lawyer presented she needs to go to trial and could take years, in small court claim...2 months.

aklim · #9 02-02-2012, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pavka007

Nope...the state of CA do not allow lawyers to represent either parties. What Honda have done is send a nominated employee who is NOT a lawyer. His/hers "duty" is to represent Honda but NOT as an attorney. This is the whole point about small claim court. No BS of any sort, you walk in, you speak when you asked to, you lay your facts and the judge is the one that have a say, yes or not. In this case Honda are in trouble big time. If and I will say it again IF any Honda owner for the year and the model of the car is willing and ready to do the leg work and file a small claim they will be out of almost $2 billion

Long live diesel

A little different here. I sue you and it takes me time to file the paperwork, get you served and appear in court. You can appear yourself or hire someone to represent you. If the other side doesn't appear you win. If they do appear, they can dispute it and a time will be scheduled for BOTH of you to re-appear in front of a judge. IIRC, you can also request a jury.

aklim · #10 02-02-2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pavka007

Aklim, read the whole story, it took her 2 court appearances and yes some time but for $10 000 clean and clear?? Come on , she done a great job. To answer your question: YES it is worth all the time and effort.

With a lawyer presented she needs to go to trial and could take years, in small court claim...2 months.

I did. I just didn't come to the same conclusion as you. $10000 with all my leg work or lose $3500 to send an attorney to small claims court. 2 appearances, time to prepare the case, etc, etc, or pay $3500. I'm assuming she isn't some min wage person and earning real money so her time is going to be worth more than a few bucks. If she gave up being a lawyer, I can't imagine that she did it for a job that makes her ask "Would you like fries with that?". I'd have to say she is making far north of $200 an hour which is what attorneys here seem to be asking so I would imagine that for her time and hassle, it might be easier to let someone else do the job. Even she admits it is not for everyone. Maybe she has a vendetta. IDK.

Lawyer could do exactly the same thing if instructed. Or you could hold out for a couple years and get more. If you are not hurting for money, why not?

I have sued many people in small claims court and it is pretty disgusting. You drive to court (1 hr), file the papers and get the sheriff to serve them (1 hr) and drive home (1 hr). If they don't get it served, you have to postpone the court date and serve by publication in their local paper which is why I usually serve them at work with a sheriff because people tend to let the guy with a gun and badge thru as opposed to private process servers. Then in the county I am at, the plaintiff has to go to court so it is another 2 hrs of travel and 1 more hour at least of waiting for the case to be heard. Defendant doesn't have to show up either. As long as they put in a plea by the end of business day, they can contest the charge. Then we have a schedule with a judge so it is another 3 hrs. Now I have spent 9 hrs and I haven't even gotten the money. It can go on longer if they request a jury trial which is seldom done but it is a right. After the judgement goes in your favor, you have to wait for them to fill up the form for what earnings they have and assets. Then you have to serve them notice of garnishment. Sorry but it is a sucky boring job. Gets the blood pumping once or twice but after that, it is a ROYAL PITA.

davidmash · #11 02-02-2012, 12:10 PM

If you get an attorney it is not small claims at that point. It becomes a civil case and Honda has a legal team that they send into play ball. Good luck finding a lawyer to take a case against Honda where the pay out is not a sure thing. It will cost you far more to go civil with out a likely chance of winning as opposed to some of your time and a good chance of winning.

I think it is a choice of a little of something or a lot of nothing. The class action would have net her a whopping $200. She made out very well.

elchivito · #12 02-02-2012, 12:24 PM

Filing a small claims suit is a snap compared to the upper courts. I doubt she spent a whole lot of prep time on it. I've both initiated and defended myself in small claims a couple of times. It's really easy. I won the one I defended myself on BTW.

rs899 · #13 02-02-2012, 12:33 PM

I think the whole point of her approach was to pathfind for other owners with the notion that their outcomes would likely far exceed the paltry $200 of the class action. Not sure if it was done to try to punish Honda in addition to the class action.

Can't Know · #14 02-02-2012, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidmash

If you get an attorney it is not small claims at that point. It becomes a civil case and Honda has a legal team that they send into play ball. Good luck finding a lawyer to take a case against Honda where the pay out is not a sure thing. It will cost you far more to go civil with out a likely chance of winning as opposed to some of your time and a good chance of winning.

I think it is a choice of a little of something or a lot of nothing. The class action would have net her a whopping $200. She made out very well.

Aw, c'mon, they're also offering a $1,000 credit towards a new Honda...

Pavka007 · #15 02-02-2012, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Can't Know

Aw, c'mon, they're also offering a $1,000 credit towards a new Honda...