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ADAMS V. KOLBE HONDA

(Note: The lawsuit described below is no longer pending before the court. Honda, Kolbe Honda, American Honda Finance, and the Plaintiff settled the case pursuant to a mutually acceptable agreement in December 2012. The Plaintiff thereafter filed a request for dismissal of the lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.)

On August 7, 2012, the Vachon Law Firm filed the complaint in the Adams v. Kolbe, Inc., et al. lawsuit (Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. LC098044). The Plaintiff, Isabel Adams, is a Los Angeles County consumer who purchased a 2011 Honda Accord from the Reseda, California Honda dealership “Kolbe Honda” in June of 2011.

As set forth below, the Adams v. Kolbe, Inc. lawsuit alleges claims against Kolbe Honda and American Honda Finance Corporation for violation of the implied warranty of merchantability imposed by California’s lemon law statute, as well as breach of California’s Automobile Sales Finance Act. It also contains a lemon law cause of action against American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Please note: the Los Angeles County Superior Court has not yet determined whether the allegations in the complaint are true, or whether Kolbe Honda and the other defendants committed any wrongdoing.

Allegations Against Kolbe Honda and American Honda Finance Corporation

The complaint in the Adams v. Kolbe, Inc. lawsuit alleges that Kolbe Honda violated California’s Automobile Sales Finance Act by failing to itemize the registration, transfer, and titling fees in Ms. Adams’s purchase contract for her Honda Accord. The complaint further alleges that Ms. Adams is entitled to rescind her contract and get her money back as a result.

Although this may seem like a minor violation, under the Automobile Sales Finance Act a purchaser is entitled to rescind his or her automobile purchase contract if the seller fails to correctly itemize ANY of the items listed in the statute. Because the California legislature thought that this was an unduly harsh rule, it recently changed the law to state that a consumer is no longer entitled to rescind the purchase contract merely because the car dealership failed to itemize the government fees included in the contract. However, that change in law applies only to vehicles purchased after January 1, 2012. Since Ms. Adams purchased her Honda Accord in June of 2011, she should still be entitled to proceed under the old law.

Ms. Adams’s complaint against Kolbe Honda also alleges that the Reseda, California Honda dealership breached the implied warranty of merchantability imposed by California’s lemon law statute. Specifically, the complaint alleges that her Honda Accord is malfunctioning as a result of several options installed by Kolbe Honda.

The above-described claims against Kolbe Honda for breach of the Automobile Sales Finance Act and violation of the California lemon law are also asserted against Honda Motors Finance Corporation. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Honda Motors Finance Corporation is the lender that Kolbe Honda found to finance Ms. Adams’s purchase, and that as a result Ms. Adams is entitled to assert all her claims against Kolbe Honda against the lender as well.

Allegations Against American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

The complaint filed by Ms. Adams’s lemon law attorney also includes a cause of action against American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (“Honda”) for violation of the California lemon law. Specifically, it alleges that Ms. Adams’s Honda Accord suffers from a defect that causes its TPMS warning light to illuminate. The complaint further alleges that Honda was not able to fix this defect within a reasonable number of attempts, that Honda eventually gave up on trying to fix the problem, and that Honda told Ms. Adams not to bother bringing her vehicle back anymore for repair of that defect.

Want a Free Consultation to Discuss Kolbe Honda?

The Vachon Law Firm offers free consultations in California lemon and car dealer fraud cases. If you would like a free consultation, call us toll free at 1-855-4-LEMON-LAW (1-855-453-6665). You may be entitled to a refund or monetary compensation as well!