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06 January 2012 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7495 / Categories: Opinion , Profession
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If life gives you lemons...

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Roger Smith gets the juice on lemon law, landmarks & lectures

A leading American lawyer, Vince Megna, has protested against fee-limiting arrangements introduced in Wisconsin by refusing to act for any Republicans, the state’s majority party.

Megna is a familiar figure in the US profession, widely known as the “lemon law” king. Lemon law, as he helpfully explains on his website, is “the body of law that offers protection to owners of motor vehicles with recurring mechanical or other problems that are not resolved within a reasonable time by the dealer or manufacturer”. Megna has used the previously welcome provisions of Wisconsin jurisdiction to some effect. He obtained $385,000 from DaimlerChrysler for a defective Dodge Viper, $482,000 from Mercedes-Benz for a dud E class, and proudly claims to have got the better of General Motors over 700 times without a single loss.

The key to judgments of such magnitude is to persuade the court to apply a multiplier to damages. Mercedes paid about eight times the value of the car in question.

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