Woman takes unique road to sue Honda over mileage

If she wins, Honda will appeal in superior court and will bring out the big guns. This case will cost Honda more than $10,000 in lawyer's fees. It'll be cheaper to just pay her off in a case that she won legitimately in a court. I'm thinking that Honda wants to protect its reputation and paying her would imply that Honda is at fault. I'm sure Toyota would do the same. However, given the past history of problems claimed by Toyota owners, Toyota actually give a damn about its customers. Toyota and everybody else investigated the hell out of James Sikes's Pruis.
She stop practicing law 10 years ago. Besides what does her past have to do with her Honda getting 29mpg? If a convicted rapist bought a Prius that only gets 25mpg does that mean he's not entitled to the same treatments and benefits as a police chief who bought the same car that gets the same mileage? She's suing Honda for the same thing that the class action is suing Honda for, not running for the US presidency.

 

NO, if she happens to win in Small Claims Court, that's it. The judgment will be 5k or less, the loser pays in 30 days or else. That's why she went this route. It's one roll of the Dice, NO lawyers, NO Jury. If the judge thinks her case has merit, she wins, he decides the payout! It's such a simple plan, with the right judge, she might actually have a slim chance to pull it off!
I personally do not think she has that chance, but it's 2012, anything goes now-a-days!
I see 3 possibilities...
A - Honda pays her off, she drops the Small Claims Action.
B - She wins, gets all of $5000.00 for her trouble and Honda loses face.
C - The judge looks at her as says, "Snap Out Of IT", your case has NO merit, you lose!

 

No ruling as Civic hybrid owner takes Honda to Small Claims Court - latimes.com
I would imagine that Honda will do anything to save face and appeal the ruling even if it'll cost them more than what she's entitle to. I'm no lawyer but could you explain why only $5,000 when she's suing for $10,000. I can understand if the judge ruled on a different amount instead of the maximum but why would you say that the max she can get is $5,000.

 

Small claims court has a maximum, presumably $5,000 in that area.

Tom

 

Correct! and NO appeal!

 

Multiple news reports, including the one linked in the OP, state that the small claims maximum for that area just went up to $10k.

 

...But Honda could appeal the ruling in Los Angeles Superior Court, where the automaker would be allowed to bring in its army of lawyers to overturn any small-claims judgment.

Don't know who is correct on this fact, but the LA Times seems to believe that Honda could appeal if they loose (paragraph 13 of the LA Times article linked a number of times in earlier posts).

It would seem pretty draconian if no appeals were allowed.

 

The defendant can appeal to superior court:

Link: California Courts - Appeals

Tom

 

Really???
Tom thanks for the update.
Last time I was in Small Claims, I had to after a landlord who decided it was his "Right" to kep our several thousand dollar security deposit!
WRONG, we got it all back 29 days later!

This is still goingto be intresting, no matter how it turns out!!!

 

Another anti-hybrid screed spurred by the case:

The American Spectator : A Honda Civic Lesson

 

In some corners, the hybrid hatred is still quite thick.

 

I wish her the best and hope she has kept meticulous records of conversations and pertinent documentation. I've had a Prius since 2009 and the mpg is phenominal. Being an environmental steward is rewarding, I am even receiving green energy for my home and saving money over my local utility company!
:cheer2:
Even small differences make a big impact!

 

Why is this case taking so long? I thought it was small claims. Shouldn't it be over by now?

 

The judge continued the case in order to do more research. He said he is concerned that the statute of limitations has run out. But the plaintiff says that the class action suit stopped the time limits when it was filed. Apparently experts in class action suits agree with her. She is a former lawyer, according to news reports. They are due back in court Jan 25.

 

that author is an idiot. He's comparing a hybrid and a volt going up hill and get 35mpg against a non hybrid's flat road freeway mileage in his case a Mazda 3 Skyactiv. Going up the same hill I doubt a Mazda 3 skyactiv would even hit 30mpg.

 

People like to do that. They take the absolute best mileage they ever saw in their conventional car and compare it to the average mileage routinely achieved in a Prius. People forget that normal car mileage also suffers from cold weather and short trips.

I'll give you a real world example: My Jeep TJ can get 21 or 22 mpg under ideal conditions. Generally my Jeep never sees ideal conditions; it's why I have a Jeep. My last tank was a combination of short trips, back roads, and off road driving. For that tank I averaged 14.5 mpg. There is a BIG difference between 14.5 and 22 mpg.

Tom

 

INFREAKINGCREDIBLE!

When word of this case winning gets out, all 200,000 Honda Hy owners have 10 days to file a small claims action exactly like this person did, Honda could be out 2 Billion bucks!
Just in Small Claims judgements!

"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."

Smart folk will dump this deal and RUN to Small Claims Courts, especially in California.!

Simply Bloody Amazing !

 

That article is such total rubbish.