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Consumer Advocate Endorses Proposed PA Lemon Law Changes During Public Hearings

Harrisburg, PA (March 8, 2001) – Attorney and automobile consumer advocate Craig Thor Kimmel, whose firm has provided free lemon law representation to more than 15,000 consumers in the past ten years, commended the Consumer Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives during public hearings today to discuss House Bill 767.

By providing consumers who lease their vehicles with lemon law protection, the Bill, being sponsored by the Honorable John Evans (R-District 5), will mark the first significant change since the PA Lemon Law was passed in 1983. Craig Thor Kimmel is the Managing Partner of the Ambler, PA-based firm of Kimmel and Silverman, P.C., the nation’s oldest and largest lemon law and consumer advocacy firm.

According to R.H. Polk, a noted industry consultant, 20 percent of all new passenger cars and 26 percent of all light utility trucks distributed in Pennsylvania in the year 2000 were leased. This compares to single-digit percentages in the early eighties, when the Bill was originally passed. Until House Bill 767, a growing number of consumers were being denied consumer protection under the state’s Lemon Law.

“House Bill 767 decisively closes the loophole of our current law and ensures all Pennsylvanians have a legal right to obtain satisfaction,” said Attorney Kimmel, who has rallied for four years for the inclusion of leased vehicles. During his statement, Kimmel also endorsed the inclusion of title branding in the Bill. Title branding is designed to inform Pennsylvania consumers of used automobiles which have been classified as lemon vehicles.

“Title branding is the single best means to prevent unsuspecting consumers from purchasing someone else’s nightmare,” said Kimmel. The attorney also shared various suggestions with the Committee to keep a tight reign on title branding throughout the state’s automobile industry.

House Bill 767 is currently scheduled to be voted on in April of 2001.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Lemon Law and the rights of automobile owners and lessees, contact us.