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The Duration of a California Lemon Law Lawsuit Varies

Consumers who have been suffering with a lemon vehicle are already frustrated enough, and one of the first questions they usually ask is how much time will a California lemon law lawsuit take. The answer to that question depends on how strong your case is and how much money you want to receive from your California lemon law claim.

Strong California Lemon Law Claims Can Be Resolved in as Little As Three Weeks

Of course, there are no guarantees on how long your California lemon law claim might take. This is because a quick resolution can only occur if the vehicle manufacturer agrees to settle your case – and there is nothing that you or your lemon law attorney can do to force the manufacturer to settle if it doesn’t want to. So if someone tries to tell you that they can “guarantee” how long your California lemon law claim will take, they are not telling the truth. The best anyone can do is estimate.

That being said, based on how vehicle manufacturers have reacted to California lemon law claims in the past, if you have a strong case under the California lemon law and you are willing to settle your lawsuit in exchange for receiving just a California lemon law buyback, then vehicle manufacturers are typically willing to settle your California lemon law claim almost immediately. In many such cases, you can have your lemon law buyback in as little as three weeks.

To learn more about whether you have a strong legal claim under the California lemon law, see this site’s page on the California Lemon Law’s Basic Rules, and also the pages explaining How Many Repairs Are Required Under the California Lemon Law and How Serious a Defect Has to Be Under the California Lemon Law.

Of course, by agreeing to settle your case for just a California lemon law buyback, you will be agreeing that you are not entitled to a lemon law civil penalty and that the manufacturer is entitled to reduce you compensation by the applicable California lemon law “mileage offset.”

If Your California Lemon Law Claim is Not Strong, or, If You Want to Receive More Than Just a California Lemon Law Buyback, Then it Takes Longer

Not surprisingly, vehicle manufacturers don’t like paying for California lemon law buybacks if they don’t have to. That means that if your California lemon law claim is not strong, the manufacturer will likely attempt to claim that it is not required to buyback your vehicle, and first attempt to oppose and litigate your lemon law lawsuit. This will take time, and delay the result of your lemon law lawsuit. The vehicle manufacturer will likely attempt to litigate until the risk of losing the California lemon law lawsuit becomes apparent. This means that weaker California lemon law claims tend to take longer.

Vehicle manufacturers also don’t like paying any more for California lemon law lawsuits than they absolutely have to. As a result, even for consumers with strong California lemon law claims, vehicle manufacturers are typically unwilling to pay anything more in a quick lemon law settlement other than a bare lemon law buyback, with the amount of money you receive reduced by a lemon law mileage offset and without any lemon law civil penalty. They believe that if they were willing to pay large California lemon law settlement quickly, they would be overrun with frivolous California lemon law lawsuits. Thus, if a lemon vehicle owner wants to obtain anything more than a minimal lemon law buyback, their lemon law lawsuit will undoubtedly take a little longer.

There is good news however – how long your California lemon law claim takes is primarily up to you. Under California law (and regardless of which California lemon law attorney represents you), a party to a lawsuit – and not the party’s attorney – has complete authority over which settlement proposals to make and accept. That means that you can always choose to settle your case early (possibly for less money than you could otherwise receive) or you can choose to litigate your case aggressively and for longer, to see if you can obtain a larger monetary recovery. Your lemon law attorney can only advise you on what settlement offers to make and which ones to accept.

How California Lemon Law Attorney Michael Vachon, LL.M. Can Help Reduce the Time it Takes For the Manufacturer to Buyback Your Lemon Vehicle

At the Vachon Law Firm, we realize that regardless of whether you are seeking a bare lemon law buyback or a greater monetary recovery, lemon vehicle owners still want their California lemon law lawsuit resolved sooner rather than later. Accordingly, we do what we can to move lemon law lawsuits along rapidly.

For example, after filing a lemon law Complaint in court and serving it on the defendants, many attorneys wait until the defendants have hired attorneys and answered the Complaint prior to serving discovery. But waiting for the defendants to answer usually takes 30 to 45 days – and California law does not require this delay before serving discovery. Specifically, California’s Code of Civil Procedure permits a plaintiff in a California lemon law lawsuit (or any other type of lawsuit) to serve written discovery as soon as ten days after the Complaint is served on the Defendant. Although there is typically no defendant’s attorney to serve this early, the Vachon Law Firm generally locates the defendants’ statutory agents for service of process, and serves the discovery upon them.

This is just one of many time-saving strategies that the Vachon Law Firm employs to speed up the time it takes to litigate a California lemon law lawsuit. Indeed, this one strategy alone will usually reduce the time it takes to settle a lemon law case by 20 to 40 days.

Call an Experienced California Lemon Law Attorney to Find Out How Long Your California Lemon Law Claim is Likely to Take

If you’re concerned about how long a California lemon law lawsuit might take, then call an expert California lemon lawyer to discuss the specifics of your potential case. You can discuss the strength of your lemon law claim, the probability of recovering more than just a bare lemon law buyback, and how long you lemon law lawsuit will likely take.

At the Vachon Law Firm we are experts in the California lemon law. Call 1-855-4-LEMON-LAW (1-855-453-6665) to discuss your lemon law claim. California lemon law consultations are always FREE!!

Also, take a moment to review this site’s page on How to Choose a California Lemon Law Attorney. It will explain how important it is to find an lemon law attorney who shares the same strategy as you for prosecuting your California lemon law lawsuit.