Sample Form | Lemon Law Complaint Demand Letter

Below is a sample demand letter for use in pursuing a Lemon Law claim. The demand letter accomplishes a few things. It lets the manufacturer know you’re serious, and it lets the manufacturer know you are informed of your rights. Also, it serves as “official notice” to the manufacturer, which is required in some states. If you want to learn more about Lemon Laws, click here for an explanation

[Your name]
[Your address]
[City, State, Zip]
[Daytime Phone]

September 10, 2007

Land Rover North America
Attn: Customer Relationship Center
555 MacArthur Blvd.
Mahwah, NJ 07430

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL Return Receipt Requested
In Re: Violation of Magnuson-Moss Lemon Law, UCC, and State Lemon Law

To whom it may concern,

TAKE NOTICE that this letter constitutes notice that Land Rover North America is in violation of [insert your state, i.e., “California’s”] state Lemon Law Warranty Act (“Lemon Law”) with regard to:

(1) Breach of Express Warranty and Violation of State Lemon Law

(2) Breach of an Implied Warranty of Fitness For A Particular Purpose.)

[Set forth a brief description of the facts of your complaint here, we have included a sample]

Two defects in my vehicle remain after the dealers’s repeated repair attempts. First, there is the coolant leak. My concern with that condition is that I travel about twice a month to Mammoth Lakes on snowy mountain roads in the winter, and back country in the summer. A breakdown late at night in the Eastern Sierra would be far worse than a mere inconvenience. Incidentally, my intended use of the vehicle was made quite clear to the sales staff when I bought it.

Second, and the matter of far greater concern to me is the rear seat that remains unlatched to the vehicle, and is capable of swinging forward and impacting the driver, or harming or causing death to passengers. The owner’s manual for this vehicle warns, on Page 40, in a section set off in bold between two thick lines,   WARNING Vehicle movement may cause the unlatched Seat to suddenly shift, potentially causing injury.

Then, on page 41, there appears a similar warning,  

WARNING After the set is returned to the upright position, the latching mechanism should be checked and physically tested to ensure that both the seat base and backrest are secure before driving.   In a frontal impact, if the rear seat is not secured (fully latched), it may swing forward contacting the seat in front of it increasing the risk of injury or death to occupants in those seats. [Note how the author of this Lemon Law demand letter uses the manufacturer’s owner’s manual to demonstrate a safety issue.]

Our state’s Lemon Law dictates that a vehicle carries a presumption that it is a lemon if a condition exists “that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven and the nonconformity has been subject to repair two or more times by the manufacturer or its agents, and the buyer or lessee has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the nonconformity.” I warned the manufacturer by letter in December of this condition while the vehicle was in the shop the second time. Land Rover’s own declarations clearly warn against the obvious danger posed by this condition. While operating the vehicle recently I was forced to stop short and the rear seat flew forward and contacted the back of my head–just as your manual warns. I avoided injury, but the episode illustrates the obvious danger of the condition.

With respect to Land Rover’s and Pioneer’s two opportunities to fix the defect, both defendants had ample opportunity to repair the defects in a few minutes. Pioneer could simply have either ordered a seat, or exchanged the seat with one of the vehicles on the lot while a replacement came in. Pioneer chose instead to twice unsuccessfully tinker with the internal seat mechanism, thereby causing great inconvenience to me, and great risk of injury or death to me and my passengers. I communicated my grave concerns over this condition repeatedly to the service rep when I first presented the car for repair. I am mystified why Pioneer treated this condition so blithely. As a dealership, they should know far better than I the obvious risk posed by the defect.

Based upon the above, demand is hereby made that you refund the sum of $43,000] to me in full. Please be advised that your failure to comply with this request within thirty (30) days may subject you to the remedies of our state’s Lemon Law, and penalties.

I look forward to receiving my refund. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

________________________

Michael Spadaccini

Michael Spadaccini is the author of 8 books on self-help legal matters such as, Ultimate LLC Compliance Guide: Covers All 50 States (Ultimate Series), Ultimate Book of Forming Corps, LLCs, Partnerships & Sole Proprietorships, and Ultimate Guide to Forming an LLC in Any State, Second Edition (Ultimate Series).

You can view his Amazon Author Profile Here.