Another Important Win for
Norman Taylor & Associates

In Hayes v. GMC and Tustin Chevrolet we have a classic Song-Beverly Act case that demonstrates what Mr. Taylor describes in his book on the Lemon Law as the "lemon Gauntlet". The essential facts in that case were:

The new car was delivered with significant rust to brake lines, rear spindle and lower control arm. An expert stated that the vehicle was exposed to a chemically corrosive material.
GM denied repair under warranty. They asserted that the rust problem was not covered by the warranty.
GM attempted one repair, as a "goodwill gesture". The attempted repair did not correct the problem.
Mr. Hayes undertook arbitration through the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Even though the GM representative said they could not correct the problem, the mediator awarded the manufacturer another repair attempt.
GM refused to communicate to Mr. Hayes what they intended to do to repair the problem, despite repeated attempts by Mr. Hayes to get this information.
GM said it was the dealer's problem and they have no control over what the dealer did or did not do.
Dealer gave the Hayes the runaround (the gauntlet in action).
Finally the dealer said they would grind away the rust; this was another improper repair attempt.
Thereafter Mr. Hayes made several more attempts to get the problem properly corrected.
The proper solution would have been to replace the rusted components. GM and the dealership never offered to provide this remedy.
Mr. Hayes files suit.
On resolution of the case the jury found for the plaintiff and awarded $27,000.00 for replacement cost of the vehicle and 2X this amount, $57,000.00 for civil penalty

Another Important Win for Norman Taylor & Associates

Another Important Win for
Norman Taylor & Associates