Paramount Lemon Law

Cases are filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, most often at the Norwalk Courthouse or the Long Beach Civil Center depending on assignment. Under California venue rules (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 395), a Song-Beverly Act case may be brought where the contract was signed, where the defendant transacts business, or where the breach occurred. For Paramount residents, LA County is the proper venue.

Manufacturers cannot escape Song-Beverly liability by labeling repeat failures as 'urban use.' Caltrans data confirms the I-710 corridor through the Gateway Cities is one of the most heavily trafficked freight routes in the nation, and vehicles sold in California are warranted to handle that duty cycle. If your brake, transmission, or suspension complaint recurs across multiple repair attempts during normal commuting, the defect is by definition a covered nonconformity to the manufacturer's express warranty.

California's Tanner Act presumption (Cal. Civ. Code 1793.22) presumes a reasonable number of attempts if, within 18 months or 18,000 miles, the same defect has been repaired four or more times, two or more times for a safety defect, or the vehicle has been out of service for repair more than 30 cumulative days. Outside those numbers, you can still prove 'reasonable attempts' as a question of fact. Most successful Gateway Cities cases involve three to five documented visits.

Often yes. Cal. Civ. Code 1795.5 extends Song-Beverly's repair-or-replace obligations to used vehicles sold by a distributor or retailer with a written warranty. The 'manufacturer' for Song-Beverly purposes becomes the distributor or retailer that issued the warranty. Used vehicles still under the original manufacturer's express warranty are also covered against the manufacturer. Bring your warranty paperwork, repair orders, and the sales contract when you consult counsel.

California's statute is generally four years from the date of breach (Cal. Com. Code 2725 and Mexia v. Rinker Boat Co.), typically running from when the manufacturer fails to repair within a reasonable number of attempts. AB 1755 (effective 2025) added outer-limit deadlines: actions must be filed within one year after express-warranty expiration and no later than six years from original delivery. Talk to a lemon-law attorney quickly if your warranty is close to expiring.

Yes. Cal. Civ. Code 1791(g) defines 'buyer' to include a lessee under a retail lease of consumer goods, and Tanner Act remedies apply to leases of new motor vehicles. Lease remedies include termination of the lease, refund of monthly payments and the capitalized cost reduction, payment of fees, and manufacturer payoff of the residual to the lessor, less a use offset. The same protections apply to leased Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Ford, RAM, and Chevy vehicles from any LA-area dealership.

Under Cal. Civ. Code 1793.2(d), the manufacturer must replace the vehicle or refund the purchase price (including taxes, license, registration, and finance charges), less a use offset of (price x miles before first repair) / 120,000. If the failure to repurchase was willful, Cal. Civ. Code 1794(c) authorizes a civil penalty up to two times actual damages. The prevailing consumer also recovers reasonable attorneys' fees and costs under Cal. Civ. Code 1794(d), which is why most LA-area lemon-law firms accept cases on full contingency.