In The Alternative Press, Mike Shapiro covers local news in Summit, Berkeley Heights, and New Providence - all in North Jersey. But he also has an insightful blog called ShapTalk where he mixes it up in the political arena and gets people buzzing about local, state, and federal issues.

In a recent column, Mike discussed the Wounded Warrior Workplace Initiative proposed by Bob Straniere, a candidate running for Congress in New York’s 13th District. The proposal encourages members of Congress and congressional candidates to hire wounded veterans or veterans’ family members. Mike writes:

While members of Congress could not possibly employ every injured veteran…they [would be] sending a powerful message to business owners throughout the country that they also need to do their part to create a seamless transition for veterans from military service to employment in the private sector.

Hats off to Mike for bringing this important issue to our attention.

New Jersey Lemon Laws have teeth, but sometimes car manufacturers bite back. This was a case for one of our clients, who had a 2008 Buick Lucerne with repeated stability control malfunctions.According to J.D. Power and Associates, GM’s 2008 Buick Lucerne gets an almost perfect score in “Overall Quality Mechanical” and a perfect score in “Powertrain Quality Mechanical.” Our client’s experience was anything but perfect.

At the outset, GM didn’t think that the inoperability of the stability control system was significant. Yet the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that such control systems can cut crashes by 35 percent, and other studies have demonstrated that 10,000 traffic fatalities could be avoided each year if every vehicle had a stability control system. Indeed, the Administrator of the NHTSA testified before Congress that such systems “could be the greatest safety innovation since the safety belt.”

Ultimately, it took us five months to get GM to see the light. Thanks to NJ Lemon Law, the manufacturer finally agreed that the malfunctions were serious enough to warrant a buyback. The result? Our client received a refund for his down payment and for all of his car payments.

New Jersey Lemon Law and breach of warranty cases have just gotten another boost, this time from a jury award in a class action case.  A New Jersey jury has just rendered a verdict against KIA Motors America, Inc., in the amount of $6,029,250 on behalf of a class of 8,039 New Jersey consumers.   The case is entitled Regina Little v. KIA Motors America, Inc., was filed and tried before the Superior Court of New Jersey in Union County.

The verdict was rendered on June 6, 2008, following a month-long trial in which the jurors found that there was a common defective design of the brake system of the 1995-2001 KIA Sephia.  The suit charged that the Sephia’s braking system didn’t adequately dissipate heat, causing pads and rotors to wear down at 10,000 mile intervals. In Kia’s own tests, the heat of the braking system was measured at 950 degrees, the plaintiffs alleged. Kia’s warranty didn’t cover brake components.  

The jury found that the automobile manufacturer breached its express and implied warranty to purchasers of the cars and violated the terms of the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. 2301 et seq., which governs warranties on consumer products and allows prevailing plaintiffs to recover reasonable costs of suit, including attorney fees.

I wrote on this issue with respect to the final repair attempt requirement under Mass lemon law, but in New Jersey, too, final repair opportunity is a pre-requisite for seeking lemon law relief.   The NJ law provides that a vehicle is a lemon if the same problem is repaired 3 or more times or if it sits in the shop for 20 days or more in the first 18,000 miles or 2 years since purchase.  The Jersey lemon law also covers leased vehicles. 

Here’s the formula:

NJ Lemon = 2 repairs/20 days in repair in the shorter of 2 yrs/18,000 miles + notice + final repair

But here’s the catch. The law requires the consumer to give the manufacturer one last shot at fixing the car once it hits the 2 repairs/20 days out requirement. The notice must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.   It must describe the problem and demand relief.   The manufacturer than has 10 days from its receipt of the notice to make the car right - this is called the NJ Lemon Law Final Repair Attempt.  If the car still malfunctions after the last repair opportunity, it’s a lemon.

Here’s the rub, though, and this often comes up in cases. If you fail to send the notice, or if you send it incorrectly, or if you take your car in for repair before the manufacturer receives the notice, your NJ lemon law case doesn’t accrue. In other words, to count as a NJ Lemon Law Final Repair, the manufacturer must receive the notice before your visit to the dealer. Otherwise, the clock will start ticking once again, and the repair will not count a final repair.

Who would have thought, but in New Jersey, televisions, iPods and other consumer electronic products may soon get the same consumer protections that car buyers get with the state’s automotive lemon law, under a bill approved and passed by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee.

Under the law, a lemon gadget manufacturer would have to replace electronic devices that cannot be repaired within 3 attempts with a device of equal value and condition or give a full refund of the total purchase price.  The bill applies to items valued at more than $250.   Violators would be subject to fines under the New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act. A first offense would carry with it fines up to $10,000. All subsequent offenses would carry a penalty of up to $20,000.

We are glad to hear that the lemon law in Jersey is being extended.  But how about other stuff? What about lemon dishwashers? Lemon fridges? The list goes on and on, so stay tuned for more…..