From AB
Mercedes-Benz has made a payment of $618,000 by order of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a lemon law case from 2005. In the case, a Wisconsin businessman, Marco Marquez purchased an E-Class, which turned out to be defective. By defective, Marquez's lawyer, lemon law-specialist Vince Megna says the owner needed the E320 to be repaired repeatedly, eventually seeking a refund.
The court awarded Marquez $482,000 in 2005, but Mercedes-Benz argued over having to pay, claiming that Marquez and his attorney delayed the motion to trigger something called "double damages."
According to reports, in Wisconsin, an automaker has 30 days to respond to a lemon law claim and provide a refund if it is deemed necessary. If it fails to meet that 30-day deadline, the car owner may be entitled to damages worth twice the value of the vehicle. Mercedes argued that Megna stalled in order to trigger that double penalty.
In a 6-1 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, requiring Mercedes-Benz to pay the full amount. Adjusted for inflation, that number comes to $618,000. And there's still the matter of more than $200,000 in legal fees accrued since 2005. Megna had named Concours Motors in Glendale, WI as well as five other Mercedes-Benz dealers as garnishees in his motion, but Mercedes-Benz stepped in to foot the bill in the end.