Opinion: There’s a Sensible Approach to Fix California’s Broken Lemon Law

Earl Skip Cooper | Special to California Black Media PartnersEarl ‘Skip’ Cooper (Courtesy photo)OPINION (CBM) – Access to reliable cars is a fundamental need for consumers, small business owners, and their hard-working employees.California’s Lemon Law is a long-standing consumer protection that allows our community members to replace the family car if they take it to the shop for repairs and it can’t be fixed. This law is a vital tool for consumers that must be protected at all costs; however, there are serious flaws in the current system that must be dealt with, especially with the current increase in the cost of living.In the last few years, lemon law complaints filed in California courts have increased by many thousands, which has resulted in a court system that is severely backlogged and slows justice down even more for the consumers who need it the most. To show in numbers what this looks like, there were 4,300 cases filed in 2015 – and this year, there will likely be 30,000. This isn’t due to issues with vehicle quality; studies show those ratings are better than ever. Instead, our current law has created a system that allows, even encourages, and rewards bad-acting attorneys...