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Honda data in judecata pentru consumul declarat



 
#1

Numai in America Icon_paper

Si-a facut si pagina web - http://dontsettlewithhonda.org

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45877490

Titlu: Woman sues Honda in unlikely place: small claims

[Image: 16444426_BG1.jpg]

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) - A Los Angeles woman who expected her hybrid Honda Civic to be a high-mileage machine wants the automaker to pay for not delivering the 50 mpg it promised. But rather than being one of thousands in a class-action lawsuit, she took her case Tuesday to small claims court.

Experts said Heather Peters has a better chance of winning her case in a court with more relaxed standards and could get a payout many times higher than the few hundred dollars offered to class-action plaintiffs.

Peters said she's been contacted by hundreds of owners who also want to take their chances with small-claims, where there are no attorneys' fees and cases are decided quickly.

"If I prevail and get $10,000, they have 200,000 of these cars out there," said Peters.

Peters, a state employee and ex-lawyer, argued that Honda knew her car wouldn't get the 50 mpg as advertised before a judge in Torrance, where American Honda Motor Co. has its West Coast headquarters. As her 2006 vehicle's battery deteriorated over time, it barely got 30 mpg, she said.

Neil Schmidt, a technical expert for Honda, called Peters' $10,000 claim excessive for her 2006 Civic Hybrid. He said the federal government had required Honda to post the highest mileage the car could get, but said the mileage varies depending on how the car is driven - for instance, if it gets stuck often in stop-and-go traffic.

Peters said she would have never purchased the car if she had known that.

"The sales force said 50 miles per gallon, but they didn't say if you run your air conditioning and you remain in stop-and-go traffic, you're going to get 29 to 30 miles per gallon," she said. "If they did, I would have gotten the regular Civic."

Peters never contacted Honda to complain or express any concern about her vehicle's fuel economy until she sent a letter in late November 2011 and then filed her suit shortly thereafter, Honda said in a statement Tuesday.

In response, Peters said she did not write to Honda's corporate offices sooner because she was repeatedly told by Honda dealers that the company had a strict policy not to replace batteries until the dashboard warning light was lit.

In a statement, the company also said that it offered to inspect her vehicle and work with her on the findings, but those offers were rejected. Peters called that claim "absolutely false."

The company also said it did not believe Peters was deceived. "The window sticker that was attached to her vehicle (as required by federal law) clearly indicated that her mileage would vary depending on driving conditions, options, vehicle condition and other factors," the statement said.

But if Peters wins, and other Civic owners follow her lead, she estimates Honda could be forced to pay as much as $2 billion in damages.

Experts say there are many upsides to Peters' unusual move.

"I would not be surprised if she won," said Richard Cupp Jr., who teaches product-liability law at Pepperdine University. "The judge will have a lot of discretion, and the evidentiary standards are relaxed in small-claims court."

Small claims courts generally handle private disputes that do not involve large amounts of money. In many states, that means small debts, quarrels between tenants and landlords and contract disagreements. Attorneys aren't usually there; in California, litigants aren't allowed to have lawyers argue their case.

A victory for Peters could encourage others to take the same simplified route, he said.

"There's an old saying among lawyers," Cupp said. "If you want real justice, go to small-claims court."

But he questioned whether her move would start a groundswell of similar cases. He suggested that few people would want to spend the time and energy that Peters has put into her suit when the potential payoff is as little as a few thousand dollars.

Peters opted out of a series of class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of Honda hybrid owners over the cars' fuel economy, when she saw a proposed settlement would give plaintiffs no more than $200 cash and a rebate of $500 or $1,000 to purchase a new Honda. Honda sold about 200,000 of the cars over the period covered by the settlement.

The settlement would give trial lawyers $8.5 million, Peters said.

"I was shocked," she said. "I wrote to Honda and said I would take $7,500, which was then the limit on small claims in California. It is going up to $10,000 in 2012."

Typical limits in other states range from $2,500 to $15,000.

"I wrote the letter and I said, 'If you don't respond, I will file a suit in small-claims court.' I gave them my phone number," she said. "They never called."

She said she also sent emails to top executives at Honda but got no response. She filed legal papers seeking reimbursement for the difference in the purchase price of the hybrid and the extra money she spent on gas.

Aaron Jacoby, a Los Angeles attorney who heads the automotive industry group at the Arent Fox law firm, said Peters' strategy, while intriguing, is unlikely to change the course of class-action litigation.

"In the class-action, the potential claimants don't have to do anything," Jacoby said. "It's designed to be an efficient way for a court to handle multiple claims of the same type."

Jacoby also defended the size of lawyers' fees in such settlements, saying class-action lawyers do extensive work that involves many clients and sometimes spans years.

And they are not in it just for money.

"They're representing the underdog, and they believe they are performing a public duty," he said. "Many of these people could not get lawyers to represent them individually."

Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan issued no immediate ruling in Peters' case Tuesday, but his staff said he would rule this week. Civil class-action cases almost always take years to resolve.

A judge in San Diego County is due to rule in March on whether to approve Honda's class-action settlement offer for hybrid owners. Members of the class have until Feb. 11 to accept or decline the deal.

Peters has launched a website, DontSettleWithHonda.org, urging others to take their complaints to small-claims court. She said Tuesday that more than 500 other Honda owners, including some who live in Australia, contacted her and want to follow her lead.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Honda nu arde uleiul, il foloseste.



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#2

am vazut-o si eu prin alta parte ... sa stii ca numai americanii sunt atat de incuiati ... eu nu-i dau sanse de reusita, pentru simplul fapt ca Honda poate sa spuna ca masina nu a fost condusa corespunzator Icon_biggrin si sa arate cu un model similar cifrele si gata.

oricum am auzit la radio zilele trecute top 5 parca procese intentate in sua si unul era cu un rapitor care a dat in judecata cuplul rapit ca nu l-au ajutat sa scape de politie (cica avea sanse sa si castige), altul a dat-o pe masa in judecata ca nu i-a trimis nush ce cadou de craciun ci doar o felicitare etc ... ce draq sa mai zici decat sa te inchini cu doua maini Icon_smile



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#3

Mai sunt si altele, era un site parca cu o lista lunga de procese stupide din America/lume
Honda nu arde uleiul, il foloseste.



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#4

va mai amintiti de tipa care a dat in judecata un lant de fastfood cum ca ar fi gasit un deget in mancare? stiti care a fost deznodamantul? cazul a fost fake insa marele producator a preferat sa ii plateaca o suma de bani considerand ca imaginea negativa in media e mai daunatoare decat sa astepte finalizarea procesului (in care ar fi castigat).
stiti ceva, astia si-o cauta singuri.
Invidia Injen Weapon-R Eibach Drag Wheels Skunk2 Magnat



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#5

Daca o despagubeste pe asta atunci vor trebui sa ii despagubeasca pe toti iar asta costa miliarde.

Sent from my GT-I9000
Honda nu arde uleiul, il foloseste.



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#6

Am vazut in cataloage auto din anii 90 la masini exotice gen Ferarri-Lambo la consum era - . Defapt nici la masina mea nu am gasit niciunde oficial trecut consumul .
Si consumul e relativ oricum .



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#7

E cum i-am zis la Adi astazi despre telefoanele mobile si cat tine bateria incarcata.

Sent from my GT-I9000
Honda nu arde uleiul, il foloseste.



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#8

Adevarat ca americanii astia nu's pe treaba lor LOL



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#9

nu-mi vine sa cred, dar tipa aia a castigat procesul cu Honda Icon_smile
Ce inseamna sa speculezi fiecare cacatis dintr-o reclama. Mai stiu si eu pe cineva care si-a cumparat o saltea si in reclama era trecuta salteaua dar si cu patul aferent fara nici o mentiune ca patul nu intra in oferta. Dupa ce i-a amenintat pe cei de la firma respectiva cu OPC, i-au dat si patul. Deci in ziua de azi doar sa fii perspicace si ai sanse de castig Icon_smile

http://www.kansas.com/2012/02/01/2198933...-over.html

Woman wins small-claims suit over Honda hybrid mpg

LOS ANGELES — A Southern California woman who challenged the legal status-quo by filing a small-claims action against Honda won her lawsuit Wednesday when a judge ruled that the automaker misled her about the potential fuel economy of her hybrid car.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan awarded Heather Peters $9,867 - much more than the couple hundred dollars cash that a proposed class-action settlement is offering.
"At a bare minimum Honda was aware ... that by the time Peters bought her car there were problems with its living up to its advertised mileage," Carnahan wrote in the judgment.
Honda disagrees with the judgment rendered in the case and plans to appeal the decision, company spokesman Chris Martin said in a statement.
Peters, a former lawyer, said she is renewing her legal license after a 10-year lapse so she can represent other Honda owners who have the same problems she did.
"Wow! Fantastic. I am absolutely thrilled," she said when The Associated Press informed her of the judge's decision. "Sometimes big justice comes in small packages. This is a victory for Honda Civic owners everywhere."
Carnahan included in his 26-page decision a long list of misleading representations by Honda that he said Peters had correctly identified. Among them were that the car would use "amazingly little fuel," ''provides plenty of horsepower while still sipping fuel," and that it would "save plenty of money on fuel with up to 50 mpg during city driving."
"Actual performance of plaintiff's vehicle did not live up to these standards," he said. He noted that when she began receiving much less than the advertised mileage, "she knew she had a problem."
Peters opted out of the class-action lawsuit so she could try to claim a larger damage award for her 2006 Honda Civic's failure to deliver the 50 mpg that was promised.
The proposed class-action settlement would give aggrieved owners $100 to $200 each and a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of a new car. Legal fees in the class action would give trial lawyers $8.5 million, Peters said.
In small claims court, there are no attorneys' fees, cases are decided quickly, and individual payments are far greater.
Peters had hoped to inspire a flood of small-claims lawsuits by the other 200,000 people whose Honda Civic hybrids are covered by the proposed settlement. If all 200,000 owners sued and won in small claims court, she said, it could cost Honda Motor Co. $2 billion.
Peters launched a website, DontSettleWithHonda.org, and said she was contacted by hundreds of other car owners seeking guidance on filing small claims lawsuits if they opted out of the class-action case. But legal experts say it's unlikely that many owners would take the small-claims route because of the time and energy involved in pursuing such lawsuits.
Carnahan held two hearings on Peters' claim in January.
The commissioner noted that Honda had argued the way a car is driven might affect its gas mileage. He said that should have been explained in advertising and elsewhere.
A Honda technical expert testified that the company was required to post a sticker with the Environmental Protection Agency's estimate of the highest mileage the car could get. But Carnahan said in his ruling that "this does not seem to be the case."
"Honda's own testing should be the guideline for how it advertises its vehicles' mileages, not the generalized work ... done by the EPA," he said. "Can a Honda hybrid driven in careful and tested ways achieve 50 mpg? No doubt. Did it happen with Peters' car? No."
The ruling harshly criticized Honda on several points, including misrepresentations about a software update that was represented as a cure for the mileage problems. Peters said it just made the situation worse and she could no longer get more than 30 mpg in the car, which she still owns.
Carnahan found that Honda did commit fraud, but he could not find intentional fraud and thus did not award punitive damages. Most of the damages Peters was awarded were for extra money spent on fuel, both in the past and future, the cost of the car battery, and the decrease in the car's value because of its problems.
A judge in San Diego County is due to rule in March on whether to approve Honda's class-action settlement. Members of the class have until Feb. 11 to accept or decline the deal.
Small claims courts generally handle private disputes that do not involve large amounts of money. In many states, that means small debts, quarrels between tenants and landlords and contract disagreements.
The limit for small claims damages in California is $10,000. In other states it ranges from $2,500 to $15,000.






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#10

Eram sigur ca o sa castige, i-am zis si lu Yula pe mess Icon_biggrin o sa fie rau de Honda in USA de acuma, la ei se pot intenta acum o gramada de procese pe aceeasi treaba si se castiga instant.



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#11

Numai in America cum am zis si mai sus. O sa fie un val de procese acuma impotriva lor pentru ca fiecare vrea sa isi ia niste banuti.
Honda nu arde uleiul, il foloseste.



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#12

este o aberatie. asa putem pleca de la prezumtia ca tuturor ne curge scuipat din gura si "interpretam" reclamele ca niste retardati. la fel poti da in judecata producatoru x de detergenti ca tie nu ti-a iesit pata din tricou, precum in reclama respectiva. sunt deacord ca unii producatori trebuie sanctionati pentru reclame exagerate, deformate, mincinoase insa nu poti sa te uiti la cealalta parte, la consumator ca la credulitatea intruchipata. in rtmul asta ajungem sa cerem cat mai putine de la specia umana si cat mai multe din partea companiilor. aberant.

Invidia Injen Weapon-R Eibach Drag Wheels Skunk2 Magnat



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#13



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#14

(08-11-2012, 10:14)Delphi Wrote: Uite ca se intampla si la altii: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyundai-ki...07129.html

Astia declara si cai putere mai multi decat au...de obicei.



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#15

mda, mult mai multi Icon_biggrin



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#16

Nu-i adevarat, masinile pleaca din fabrica cu toti caii putere pe care ii declara ei. Pe drum insa, unii se pierd, altii sunt furati, asa incat... Icon_smile



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#17

Astia au patit-o mai rau ca Honda.

Sent from my Slimed i9000
Honda nu arde uleiul, il foloseste.



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