Business | Economy
Honda owner's legal victory resonates
Damages awarded to former lawyer who was misled by carmaker into believing her car has more mileage per gallon
- AP
- Published: 00:00 February 4, 2012
- Image Credit: AP
- Heather Peters, who says her 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid never achieved the gas mileage Honda claimed in its advertising, and also did a computer upgrade that further diminished the mileage, was awarded $9,867 by a Small Claims Court in Torrrance, California.
Los Angeles: Heather Peter's computer crashed under the onslaught of messages following her unique victory over Honda in small claims court — a win the California woman is hoping will lead other consumers to reject a class action settlement over defective hybrid cars.
Peters, who was at the centre of a whirlwind as she welcomed camera crews to her home, said she has received more than 500 Facebook messages and had 6,000 hits on her website following a court decision awarding her $9,867 (Dh36,236) and finding Honda misled her into thinking her Hybrid could get 50 miles (80.4km) per gallon. She said the 2006 model, which she still owns, gets about 30 mpg.
Unique end
Peters' win in small claims court was a unique end run around the class action process and set the stage for others to follow suit. She sees her victory as benefiting not just Honda owners but all consumers. "To me this is really about the decline in customer service in America and how we have rolled over and accepted it for too long," she said. "People are mad as hell and they're not going to take it."
Class action lawsuits typically give small settlements to all members of the class. In the Honda suit, the company has offered $100 to $200 to each owner of an under-performing hybrid along with a $1,000 coupon to some toward purchase of a new car. Peters, a former lawyer, said she is renewing her legal licence after a 10-year lapse so she can consult with other Honda owners She said she is also posting all the paperwork from her small claims suit online as a guide for others contemplating such suits.
There appear to be many of them across the country, with Peters sharing dozens of e-mails sent to her by Honda owners who are opting out of the class action and filing their own suits.
But Professor Laurie Levenson of Loyola University Law School said Honda may have suffered something much worse than a possible flood of small claims actions.
"The worst part for Honda is they've been branded as committing fraud," she said. "That's not good for sales. It's a PR disaster and sometimes that costs more than the judgment."
One Honda owner in Texas was among those taking action.
More from Economy
More from Business
Business Editor's choice
-
China breaks West's solar monopoly
Some countries in the world, especially Germany and the United States, have made considerable efforts to invest in developing solar energy cells
-
Burberry store spree will cut profit
Trenchcoat maker forges ahead with investment strategy targeting emerging markets
-
Laws needed to spur region bond markets
UAE Central Bank calls for creation of a centralised Sharia board to facilitate the sale of sukuk
