Pathfinder on the Texas Lemon Law

I. Introduction

II. Legal Information Sources

III. Interdisciplinary Information Sources

I. Introduction

Lemon laws started being enacted in response to growing numbers of consumer complaints about the large number of defective automobiles manufactured and sold in this country. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 2301 et seq.) was enacted by Congress in an attempt to make manufacturers' warranties more enforceable. This Act did not address the issue of refunds to consumers for defective automobiles and led to individual state's enacting their own lemon laws. These were designed to deal more comprehensively with the issue of defective automobiles and ways for consumers to obtain satisfaction from the manufacturers of the defective products.

The Texas lemon law is included in the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission Code (Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4413(36) sec. 6.07). This Act covers the distribution and sale of new motor vehicles in the State. It includes the procedures necessary for a new motor vehicle buyer to follow in order to file a complaint concerning a defective vehicle if satisfaction is not forthcoming from the manufacturer. The lemon law survived a constitutional challenge in Chrysler Corp. v. Texas Motor Vehicle Com., 755 F.2d 1192 (CA5 Tex, 1985).

II. Legal Information Sources

A. Primary Sources

Case Law - Digests

  • In the West Digest Systems, search by Key Number: Consumer Protection-- Key 42 and Arbitration--Key 4.1 to find case law dealing with federal and state cases concerning the lemon law.
  • LEXIS Database, search by key words lemon law to retrieve cases dealing with the application of the lemon law on both federal and state levels.

Statutes

Federal

  • 88 Stat. 2183 - Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975. The federal version of the lemon law. It does not cover a number of issues relating to refunds to consumers that are addressed in the state law.

Texas

  • Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4413(36) sec. 6.07 - Texas Motor Vehicle Commission Code. This comprehensive lemon law covers all aspects of dealing with defective vehicles, including refund of purchase price.

Administrative Law and Regulations

Federal

Texas

  • Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Sec. 107.1 et seq. (1996) contains information on filing claims under the Texas lemon law.

B. Secondary Sources

Legal Encyclopedias

  • American Jurisprudence2d. 83 volumes. Vol. 17 issued in 1990, with a supplement in 1996, covers the topic under Consumer Product Warranty Acts, Sec. 67 and 68.
  • Texas Jurisprudence. 77 volumes. 1994 Index lists Duties Under the Lemon Law at Automobiles, Sec. 197 and Dispute Resolution at Automobiles, Sec. 201.
  • 'lectric Lawcopedia at the 'lectric Law Library on the Internet covers the topic under lemon laws.

Annotated Law Reports

  • A.L.R. 4th v. 51, p. 871 - Validity, construction and effect of state motor vehicle warranty legislation (lemon law) offers a very complete coverage of the subject. It contains cases dealing with the lemon law on both federal and state levels and references to numerous cases involving the lemon laws.
  • Am. Jur. Proof of Facts 3d. v. 11, p. 343 (1991) - "Lemon Law" Litigation - Existence of Substantial Defect. Contains checklists and other materials to use to help in filing lemon law claims.
  • West's Texas Forms, v. 3, sec. 17.31 et seq. (1995) contains information and forms for filing a complaint under the Texas lemon law.

Legislative Histories

  • 88 Stat. 2183 contains a legislative history of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 from its' original bill to final passage.

Treatises

  • Richard M. Goodman, Automobile Design Liability 2nd Ed., Lawyer's Co-Op Publishing Co., 1983. Provides an overview of liability cases dealing with automobile design defects.
  • Joyce K. Kinnard, Magnuson-Moss Litigation Manual: Auto Warranty Cases 2nd Ed., Washington, D.C.: Center for Auto Safety, 1982. Discusses cases dealing with the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975.
  • Edward M. Swartz, Hazardous Products Litigation 2nd Ed., Lawyer's Co-Op Publishing Co., 1988.

Law Journals

  • Index to Legal Periodicals, H.W. Wilson Company. Search under the headings "Motor Vehicles" and "Products liability - Motor vehicles" for articles concerning the lemon law. Lemon Laws: Putting the Squeeze on Automobile Manufacturers, 61 Wash. U.L.Q. 1125 (1984).
  • Current Law Index, Information Access Company. Search under the heading "Automobile lemon laws" for articles concerning the lemon law. A New Twist for Texas "Lemon" Owners, 17 St. Mary's L.J. 155 (1985).
  • LegalTrac CD-ROM contains articles under the heading Automobile lemon laws with subheadings for analysis, cases, evaluation, interpretation and construction, laws and regulations, remedies and surveys which cover all aspects of the lemon law. Vogel, Squeezing Consumers: Lemon Laws, Consumer Warranties, and a Proposal for Reform, 1985 Ariz. St. L.J. 589.
  • LEXIS Database, a search in the Library - LAWREV and File - ALLREV retrieves under "lemon law." It contains a wide variety of articles on the subject. Julian B. Bell III, Comment: Ohio's Lemon Law: Ohio Joins the Rest of the Nation in Waging War Against the Automobile Limited Warranty, 57 U. Cin. L.Rev. 1015 (1989).

Articles

  • LEXIS Database, a search in the Library - NEWS and File - CURNWS retrieves under "lemon law," retrieves numerous articles on the subject. Donna Lawrence Harris, Texas Accuses Toyota of Lemon Laundering, Automotive News (9/23/1996).
  • Washlaw Web indexes and offers full text search of all law journals on the Internet. Search under lemon law.
  • Index to Periodical Articles Related to Law, Glanville Publishers, Inc. Search under the heading "Consumer Protection" to find articles concerning the lemon law.

Databases

  • LEXIS Database provides access to the topic in cases, law, reviews and journal articles. Search term: lemon law.
  • Westlaw Database provides access to the topic in cases, law, reviews and journal articles. Search term: lemon law.

III. Interdisciplinary Information Sources

Books

  • Texas Lemon Law: a Consumer Handbook, Texas Motor Vehicle Commission, 1990. This handbook is designed to explain the lemon law to consumers. It describes how it works and what comsumers need to do in order to utilize it.
  • Texas Lemon Law: a Consumer Handbook/Texas Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division, Texas Motor Vehicle Commission, 1993. Updated consumer handbook describing the Texas lemon law to consumers and their rights under the law.
  • Texas Motor Vehicle Commission Lemon Law Rules: Including 1991 Amendments, Texas Motor Vehicle Commission, 1992. This booklet contains the Texas Motor Vehicle Commission Code, including the sec. 6.07 on the lemon law.

Articles

  • Index to Periodical Articles Related to Law indexes articles concerning the lemon law under Consumer Protection, such as The Sour Truth About Lemon Laws, Consumer Reports, 58(1):40-42, 1993.

Prepared by Marty Sheppard for SLIS 5647.


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