Introduction to Ohio Lemon Law

In the past, these problems were handled under contract law. The buyer would bring a lawsuit claiming that the vehicle was not in the condition promised, and if he proved that the vehicle was not in a condition fit for its purpose, he could revoke his acceptance of the goods. If the court found for the buyer, then damages were awarded. The trouble was that all of this took and takes place under the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code).

First year law students struggle long and hard into the late night hours trying to figure out the UCC and its rules, and their becoming lawyers depends upon understanding it from back to front. Most new vehicle buyers don't have a year to learn contract law, they want a simple solution that they can understand. Ohio's Lemon Law gives them something that isn't as simple as a handshake, but not as Byzantine as the UCC.

Another problem with the old legal remedies was and is that damages awarded were often inadequate to compensate the buyer, especially after attorney's fees. Ohio follows the American Rule of Contract Law, which is that each side pays for its own legal fees (though things like filing fees are often assessed to the loser). Thus under the old traditional legal remedies, when you got done paying an attorney $3,500.00 to fight it out, and the court only awards you damages in the amount of $2,750.00, you were left with a sour taste in your mouth regarding the purchase of the vehicle and the legal system you thought would protect you.

Further, as automobiles are often required to travel to and from work or in many cases, to perform work, being without a car (though still having to make the payment) puts such a strain on the buyer that hiring a lawyer for a year to pursue a lawsuit was often out of the question. Even if you won your case, you often got some money damages and you were still stuck with the car that could not be fixed.

Further, under the old fashioned common law causes of action, the responsible party, the manufacturer of the automobile, was not the entity selling the car to the buyer. Rather, a car dealer sold the car. So suing Ford for the defect in the vehicle gave rise to a "privity of contract" issue (meaning that since Ford never dealt with you directly, no common law contract lawsuit could be brought against Ford).

Lastly, Ohio's Lemon Law was designed to address the inherent shortcomings in previous consumer protection laws, which often failed to provide an adequate remedy to consumers of defective automobiles.

The Ohio Lemon law differs from the old fashioned breach of contract actions and UCC Article 2 (sale of goods) actions. It gives valuable new rights and remedies to those buying new cars in the State of Ohio. Under Ohio's Lemon law, if a vehicle is designated a Lemon, a manufacturer is required to accept the return of the vehicle and either replace it with another acceptable to the consumer, or issue a statutory refund, at the consumer's option.

Under Ohio's Lemon Law, if the consumer does not want a replacement vehicle, then the manufacturer must refund the "full purchase price." The "full purchase price" includes, among other things, all finance charges incurred by the consumer. In addition to recovering all monies associated with the purchase of a vehicle, the consumer is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and all court costs upon prevailing on a Lemon Law claim.

Ohio passes its Lemon Law - continue on