3230. Breach of Disclosure Obligations - Essential Factual Elements

[Name of plaintiff] claims that [name of defendant] violated California's motor vehicle warranty laws. To establish this claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove all of the following:

1. That [name of plaintiff] [bought/leased] a [motor vehicle] from [name of defendant];

2. [That the vehicle was returned by a previous [buyer/lessee] to [name of manufacturer] under [California/[name of state]]'s motor vehicle warranty laws; and]

[That [name of defendant] knew or should have known that the vehicle had been returned to the manufacturer under [California/[name of state]]'s motor vehicle warranty laws; and]

[3. That before the [sale/leasing], [name of defendant] failed to tell [name of plaintiff], in clear and simple language, about the nature of the defect experienced by the original [buyer/lessee] of the vehicle; [or]]

[4. That before the [sale/leasing] to [name of plaintiff], the defect experienced by the vehicle's original [buyer/lessee] was not fixed; [or]]

[5. That [name of defendant] did not provide a written warranty to [name of plaintiff] that the vehicle would be free for one year of the defect experienced by the vehicle's original [buyer/lessee].]

Directions for Use

Use the first bracketed option in element 2 if the defendant is the manufacturer. Otherwise, use the second option.

This instruction is based on the disclosure and warranty obligations set forth in Civil Code section 1793.22(f). Uncontested elements should be deleted. The instruction may be modified for use with claims involving the additional disclosure obligations set forth in California's Automotive Consumer Notification Act. (Civ. Code, §§ 1793.23, 1793.24.)

Sources and Authority

Civil Code section 1793.22(f)(1) provides, in part: "[N]o person shall sell, either at wholesale or retail, lease, or transfer a motor vehicle transferred by a buyer or lessee to a manufacturer pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 1793.2 or a similar statute of any other state [i.e., a "lemon law" buyback], unless the nature of the nonconformity experienced by the original buyer or lessee is clearly and conspicuously disclosed to the prospective buyer, lessee, or transferee, the nonconformity is corrected, and the manufacturer warrants to the new buyer, lessee, or transferee in writing for a period of one year that the motor vehicle is free of that nonconformity."

Civil Code section 1794(a) provides, in part: "Any buyer of consumer goods who is damaged by a failure to comply with any obligation under this [act] . . . may bring an action for the recovery of damages and other legal and equitable relief."

Civil Code section 1793.23 provides, in part:

(b) This section and Section 1793.24 shall be known, and may be cited as, the Automotive Consumer Notification Act.

(c) Any manufacturer who reacquires or assists a dealer or lienholder to reacquire a motor vehicle registered in this state, any other state, or a federally administered district shall, prior to any sale, lease, or transfer of the vehicle in this state, or prior to exporting the vehicle to another state for sale, lease, or transfer if the vehicle was registered in this state and reacquired pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 1793.2, cause the vehicle to be retitled in the name of the manufacturer, request the Department of Motor Vehicles to inscribe the ownership certificate with the notation "Lemon Law Buyback," and affix a decal to the vehicle in accordance with Section 11713.12 of the Vehicle Code if the manufacturer knew or should have known that the vehicle is required by law to be replaced, accepted for restitution due to the failure of the manufacturer to conform the vehicle to applicable warranties pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 1793.2, or accepted for restitution by the manufacturer due to the failure of the manufacturer to conform the vehicle to warranties equired by any other applicable law of the state, any other state, or federal law.

(d) Any manufacturer who reacquires or assists a dealer or lienholder to reacquire a motor vehicle in response to a request by the buyer or lessee that the vehicle be either replaced or accepted for restitution because the vehicle did not conform to express warranties shall, prior to the sale, lease, or other transfer of the vehicle, execute and deliver to the subsequent transferee a notice and obtain the transferee's written acknowledgment of a notice, as prescribed by Section 1793.24.

(e) Any person, including any dealer, who acquires a motor vehicle for resale and knows or should have known that the vehicle was reacquired by the vehicle's manufacturer in response to a request by the last retail owner or lessee of the vehicle that it be replaced or accepted for restitution because the vehicle did not conform to express warranties shall, prior to the sale, lease, or other transfer, execute and deliver to the subsequent transferee a notice and obtain the transferee's written acknowledgment of a notice, as prescribed by Section 1793.24.

(f) Any person, including any manufacturer or dealer, who sells, leases, or transfers ownership of a motor vehicle when the vehicle's ownership certificate is inscribed with the notation "Lemon Law Buyback" shall, prior to the sale, lease, or ownership transfer of the vehicle, provide the transferee with a disclosure statement signed by the transferee that states: "THIS VEHICLE WAS REPURCHASED BY ITS MANUFACTURER DUE TO A DEFECT IN THE VEHICLE PURSUANT TO CONSUMER WARRANTY LAWS. THE TITLE TO THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY BRANDED WITH THE NOTATION 'LEMON LAW BUYBACK'."

(g) The disclosure requirements in subdivisions (d), (e), and (f) are cumulative with all other consumer notice requirements and do not relieve any person, including any dealer or manufacturer, from complying with any other applicable law, including any requirement of subdivision (f) of Section 1793.22.

Secondary Sources

20 California Points and Authorities, Ch. 206, Sales (Matthew Bender)

5 Bancroft-Whitney's California Civil Practice: Business Litigation (1993) Consumer Warranties, § 53:29, pp. 36-37; id. (2001 supp.) at § 53:30, pp. 37-40

(New September 2003)