Honda frets about civic mileage judgment

A car manufacturer of the worst nightmare. Honda is worried that it could out there be more Heather Peters, order it in small Sue advertising due to mileage claims.

By Paul A. Eisenstein, msnbc.com of mysteries

Honda is for a possible flood of legal challenges bracing, if the California courts maintain that a recent judgment a award of almost $10,000 to woman who claims that 2006 civic delivered promised hybrid significantly lower fuel consumption as the manufacturer you.

Heather the only Honda is by no means the owner window sticker upset through the gap between the mileage on the civic and what the car actually in use. But they decided a very different approach to other owners, many of whose legal claims in a class action were now consolidated in a court in San Diego.

The 46-year-old Peters, himself a former lawyer, decided to take their dispute to a Court of small claims procedures in a suburb of Los Angeles. During Peters says she realized that that they lost to additional fuel costs and a lower buy-back value if the money that she insists in able to gather all, she felt, that she would always have a better chance of a sensible choice in the small claims procedure.

Such dishes are usually used for smaller disputes - and she that the individual can sue a multinational company, without overlooking a group of legal experts - or invoices that would far exceed the maximum exposure that ranges runs the use of lawyers, which means bar normally from $2,500 to $15,000 depending on the State.  In California the CAP is $10,000 and Peters received $9.867 this month by superior court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan.

Before the trial the Civic Hybrid owners complained that while her car at 50 miles per gallon was assessed, "do they not say, if you do your air conditioning and you remain in the stop-and-go traffic, you, 29, will get 30 miles per gallon."

In court, a Honda representative, technical specialist Neil Schmidt, was that it was not the company to blame. He argued that written just the numbers set Honda by the EPA, the Government fuel-economy tests carried out.

"We have no other choice," Schmidt said.  "We have put the numbers on the label."

The EPA restricts only manufacturers such as Honda, at the upper end. You can book any number on the car so called Munroney sticker above what the Government has been achieved tests. But a manufacturers such as Honda can a smaller number, it decides to do so. With regard to competitors probably their own figures to maximize, if at all only a few car manufacturers always with anything other than the EPA release gone. The part is noticed Dave Sullivan, an analyst at AutoPacific, Inc., as it was thought in general this legal using the Federal Republic numbers cover,.

But the argument can no longer keep.  Honda the only manufacturer is not suing optimistic mileage numbers. Others, including Toyota, have also put legal heat. The EPA has now its own testing procedures in order to fight. In 2008 it completely revised its processes in a strong jump in mileage figures for gas-electric vehicles such as the Honda Civic Hybrid led.

Peters said the ruling in their small claims suit "a victory for Honda Civic owner everywhere." She created in the meantime other owners not convince a website, "DontSettleWithHonda.org," settlement to adopt a proposed class-action lawsuit, which is governed on an other California judge in March. This agreement would only $100 to $200 in cash each owner along with a $1,000 discount certificate good for purchase of another product offer Honda.

Critics have frustrated argued that the settlement really is a possibility, the Japanese manufacturer, owner again in its showrooms. The case of plaintiff lawyers have also been criticised as they are, get a profit of $8.5 million for their work.

A statement by Honda said, "we do not agree with the judgment in this case, and we want to raise an objection against the decision." The timing this ground of appeal is uncertain.

But a source in the company said that manufacturer is clearly concerned about the possible precedent, which can be set when the Peters case is allowed, are available. It raises the possibility, could that hundreds of Civic Hybrid owners, see little to gain from the class action settlement and more opportunities in taking into account their own claims of the local small courtroom claims.

The industry also attention is a Ford Executive said, asking, be identified not by name. While automakers routinely complain the legal climate they pull a class action suit often countless local suits.  And small claims actions put a strict limit on their legal authority that usually a potent tool in resolving consumer complaints.