The word “lemon” originated in Britain where it was not only used to refer to the fruit but also something worthless. This practice soon translated to America where by 1960 defective cars were commonly referred to as lemons. 12 years later, in an attempt to relive the sour feeling of buying a ‘lemon’, CT Representative John J. Woodcock III proposed the Lemon Law, formally titled “An Act Concerning Automobile Warranties”.
Born and raised in South Windsor, Representative Woodcock (D) became a town attorney after graduating Suffolk University Law School. After a successful run for town council, Woodcock drew on his experience as an attorney during which he noticed an increase in lawsuits relating to poorly made vehicles. It was then that the freshman representative sponsored the Lemon Law, believing people needed a new mechanism to regain confidence in the car market. He modeled it on a similar law that had been introduced in California just two years earlier, but stopped by automobile companies. On June 4th, 1982, the first Lemon Law was passed.
The passage made waves: by 1983, 17 states created their own set of lemon laws and today all 50 states have adopted similar legislation. In general, the law requires automobile manufacturers to repurchase vehicles that have significant defects, taking into account the number of days it is unavailable and the number of repair attempts made (exact criterias vary state to state). As for CT specifically, if the issues couldn’t be repaired within 4 attempts, the manufacture is required to either replace or provide a full refund.
With the high success of the first lemon law, Woodcock soon proposed another concerning used cars. In 1985 his interests then further extended to laws against odometer tampering. Today, the lemon law is responsible for the return of over $60 million to CT consumers.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
- The backbone of the Lemon Law on the federal level is the Magnuson-Mass Warranty Act (1975) which is broader and more general, leading to most enforcement being from state level legislation → https://portal.ct.gov/DCP/Common-Elements/Consumer-Facts-and-Contacts/Magnuson-Moss-Warranty-Act
- A brief story of the first family to benefit from the Lemon Law. Includes a lot of great information on opposition from manufacturers as well → https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/02/style/consumer-s-world-car-makers-fight-back-on-lemon-laws.html
- A more detailed history of the lemon law: https://lawecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1563&context=lclr
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