Intro to the PA Lemon Law
The Pennsylvania Lemon Law is designed to protect consumers from defective vehicles. Pennsylvania’s Lemon Law applies to new cars and focuses on issues that substantially impair the use and/or market value of the vehicle. Pennsylvania’s Lemon Law has an appropriate name in that it was designed to protect consumers from buying a "lemon."
What is a Statute of Limitation?
A statute of limitations is a law that sets forth the maximum period of time which a lawsuit can be commenced for a legal right. In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations governing breach of contract actions is four years. This means that plaintiffs have four years from the date of the occurrence giving rise to their claim to institute the action in court. In cases where there is a contractual relationship between the parties, such as the sale or lease of commercial goods, the statute of limitations clearly exists.
However, cases brought under the state Lemon Law are based on consumer protection claims, which are covered by the state Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Consumers in Pennsylvania do not have a clear contractual relationship with the manufacturer of their leased or purchased vehicle. In light of this grey area, the Pennsylvania Lemon Law has specifically set forth a time limitation on a consumer’s ability to bring a claim. The statute of limitations on a Lemon Law claim is six months. A Pennsylvania Lemon Law claim must be initiated within six months of the first date in which a written notice to the manufacturer was given. In other words, if the manufacturer has failed to repair your vehicle within 30 days, your time limit to file a PA Lemon Law is six months from the day you mailed the letter.
Time Limit under PA Lemon Law
There are time limits, known as statutes of limitation, that apply to lemon law cases. A consumer has to bring the case to court within the statute of limitation period or they forever lose the right to make a lemon law claim, regardless of how bad the car is defective. In Pennsylvania, lemon law claims must be brought within eighteen (18) months of the date of original delivery of the vehicle to the consumer. The statute of limitation period is not extended for defects that were repaired by the manufacturer under warranty – because they would be protected by the lemon law if the defects occurred within the warranty period.
Filing your Lemon Law Claim in PA
To properly file a lemon law claim, you must first ensure that your claim is within the lemon law statute of limitations (if you are in Pennsylvania). If you have not reached your statute of limitations, then you should:
- Have made use of your factory warranty/guarantee.
- Pay for repairs if repairs are needed and the car is still under the factory warrant/guarantee. If the factory warranty has expired, then you do not have to pay for repairs as long as your vehicle is within the warranty terms.
- Notify your local dealership. If you have factory warranty/guarantee still in effect, you would want to notify the dealership you brought the car from. The dealership must have the chance to repair the vehicle. However, if the manufacturer sends you a notice then you may want to go directly to the manufacturer. It may be smart to go directly to the manufacturer because they have a team of representatives, engineers, and lawyers at their disposal. But if your car is out of factory warranty, you may want to go back to the dealership where you bought your car and let them try to fix the problem. We have had good success with almost all the local dealerships getting involved with their customers’ lemon law claims.
- Document and save all invoices, repair orders, work order receipts, etc. Keep copies of everything in case it is needed later on. Make sure that invoices contain the following information:
a. Model and VIN number of your vehicle.
b. Exact date on which the car was brought in for repair.
c. Exact date when your vehicle was returned to you after the repair. Or if you have the repair order, which have the dates they came to pick it up and when they dropped it off. If you have only received a verbal, make sure to get that in writing.
d. Exact problems you listed from the beginning to the dealer.
e. Exact description of the repair and cost of repair (This may also appear on the work order).
5. Last and most importantly, make sure you keep a detailed log every time you take the car back into the dealership, service dealership or manufacturer for repair or upon arriving back home and realizing the same defect is still present. You never know when it will be necessary to have a complete list of all repairs, incidents, exact odometer readings, exact dates and times, exact dates and times of when a call is made to the manufacturer or dealer, etc. A very common and easy way to keep track of everything is to make a log every time you take the car in and out of the dealership, or your cell phone bill with all incoming and outgoing calls to the manufacturer or dealership.
Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations
In certain exceptional circumstances, the statute of limitations may be stayed (paused) or tolled (extended). In order to toll the statute of limitations, the plaintiff must be able to set forth a factual basis for the tolling. In other words, if the plaintiff is in an early stage of litigation, a simple allegation of fraud, duress, or mistake is not enough to toll the statute of limitations. In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations will be tolled in the following circumstances: (i) the plaintiff was a minor at the time of the cause of action had accrued; (ii) the plaintiff was either insane or legally incompetent at the time of the cause of action had accrued and the insanity or legal incompetence continued through the date on which the action accrued; (iii) at the time the cause of action had accrued, the defendant: (a) was outside of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or as to whom service could not be made through reasonable diligence; (b) was concealing himself or herself within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania so that process could not be served upon him or her; or (c) fraudulently concealed his or her identity so that process could not be served upon him or her; or (iv) for any other equitable reason. Tolling will apply among all defendants against whom an action has been brought even if service has been perfected on only some of the defendants . However, there are also certain scenarios in which the statute of limitations may be tolled by the plaintiff, including: (a) If the defendant unequivocally refuses to participate in an action (sued or otherwise) with the plaintiff named as a party, the statute of limitations shall not be tolled until the first effective date of service of process on the defendant; (b) The filing of a complaint in a court of competent jurisdiction tolls the statute of limitations as to all defendants named in an additional count or new count of an amended or supplemental complaint. The same is true for counter-claims and Joinder of additional parties. (c) If a plaintiff actually files a timely complaint against the defendant without service of the complaint and the action is not discontinued nor made known by service to the defendant, no dismissal of the action for improper venue or improper form of process shall affect the limitation of actions; but, the complaint shall not constitute a sufficient commencement of the action until service is made. (d) Any notice provided by use of registered mail or certified mail shall be effective as if it had been made by personal service, provided the evidence of delivery by certified or registered mail is received within the applicable period of limitation. A plaintiff may apply to the court for leave to show good cause for a refund of any fees paid to the Prothonotary for any costs arising from the delay in serving the defendant.
What Happens If You Miss the Statute of Limitations
The consequences of failing to file a lemon law claim within the statute of limitations are severe. If you miss the deadline, you will lose your right to receive any money for your defective car. You can still pursue a breach of warranty claim against the manufacturer after the statute of limitations has passed, but you may not be eligible for economic compensation for a defective vehicle.
Even if the defect in your car is causing major issues, the law generally does not allow you to pursue a lemon law claim after the statute of limitations has run out. Because this defense can be raised at any time in litigation, it is crucial that every Pennsylvania lemon law claimant make their claim promptly.
The failure to pursue a lemon law claim within the statute of limitations will also bar any other claim related to the defective vehicle. For example, if the defective vehicle caused an accident weeks after the statute of limitations has passed, any claims related to the accident may be barred. While there may be other avenues for legal relief, previous allegations that the vehicle was a lemon (or was not a lemon) may be determinative and exclude the claimant from a recovery.
Getting Help
With the above time limits in mind, we get to the most important piece of advice. If you feel that you are close to the time limits, if you don’t know at all if any kind of claim exists, if you are not sure if you have a lemon, or if you are in any way concerned that you are going to miss useful deadlines, then now is the time to seek the advice of a lawyer. Confused? Well, you should be. There are often a number of legal possibilities lurking in the shadows, and you don’t want to miss out on any opportunities that exist. In fact, sometimes the best course of action is not a lemon law claim, but some other type of legal remedy. That’s why it is so very important to find help from a lemon law attorney as soon as you think you might have a claim.
Conclusion: Don’t Lose Your Rights
What the statute of limitations means is that if you do not bring a claim for your defective vehicle within that time period, you may be barred from bringing a lawsuit in the future—even if your vehicle has not been repaired. A few specific exceptions save a few people in specific situations, but in the vast majority of cases you should not rely on anything other than bringing a claim within the statute of limitations to ensure that you preserve your rights .
If you think you have a lemon or if you aren’t sure whether your car or truck has a lemon, it’s smart to seek legal guidance. An experienced lemon law attorney will be able to answer your questions about whether the statute of limitations impacts your rights. That way you can avoid making a mistake by failing to submit your claim in a timely fashion under the law.