Honda’s failure to handle basic lemon law buyback requests was exposed again after its failure to address unsafe transmission problems led a jury to rule 12-0 in favor of the plaintiff. Our client, Sonia Hernandez Velasquez, represented by Deepak Devabose and Armando Lopez, was awarded a final amount of $126,682.28. This award was more than three times the vehicle’s purchase price and included an award of civil penalties for Honda’s willful violation of California’s Lemon Law and an award of prejudgment interest.
Velasquez purchased a certified pre-owned 2016 Honda Odyssey for $36,882.64. Throughout her vehicle ownership, Velasquez reported that the Odyssey would show a transmission judder whenever she depressed the brakes or drove at speeds above 55 miles per hour, among other issues. The defects landed the Honda Odyssey in the shop for at least 25 cumulative days. Velasquez testified that due to the transmission judder, she stopped driving on highways and only drove on side streets.
Repair orders from Honda’s dealership showed little to no change in mileage before and after each repair visit, indicating that either short test drives were performed or none at all. Such short test drives would not have been sufficient to investigate or diagnose a transmission judder that occurs at highway speeds. Honda also tried to attribute the vehicle shaking to brake issues that had also occurred in the vehicle, even though the repair orders indicated otherwise.
After several repair visits, Velasquez reported the recurring issues with her Odyssey to Honda and requested a buyback. Unsurprisingly, Honda failed to conduct a basic lemon law buyback review. Honda failed to even request the repair orders from its own dealerships to perform an evaluation.
After deliberation, the jury ruled 12-0 in our client’s favor, awarding Velasquez $36,643.76 in actual damages and $73,287.52 in civil penalties. The judge awarded prejudgment interest of $16,751.00.
Whether a manufacturer willfully violates the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, or merely shows plain incompetence, Knight Law Group is willing to stand up and fight to protect basic consumer rights. Our victory against Honda shows yet again we can fight a manufacturer’s refusal to uphold their responsibilities under the law and win.
Case: Hernandez Velasquez, Sonia v. American Honda Motor Co.