Discovery Without a doubt, the car manufacturer will at least send you what is call an interrogatory, which is a long set of questions that will require a lot of time to complete and require that you provide them with a full set of documentation. In many cases, they will also require a deposition from you.
A deposition is a face to face meeting that is recorded and where both sides' attorneys get to ask you many questions. What they are mostly aiming for isn't really to obtain any more information related to your car. It is mostly so that they can obtain information they can use to limit their own liability.
They want to know things like how much you think your car is worth and to determine what kind of witness you will make if the case went to court. It is all a bunch of mind games and if you don't know what to do, it will confuse you.
Here are some quick tips to a successful deposition: Keep your cool. Don't get excited or make accusations, and definitely don't say things that you cannot prove. Keep your answers short and only answer the questions you are asked. Remember, this isn't personal, it's about money.
The inevitable settlement conference/offer If the car manufacturer believes that you have a legitimate lemon law case against them, you do not want to look for them to give you what you are asking. In fact, don't even expect them to be reasonable in their offer. A settlement conference or offer is made for one purpose and that is to make this thing go away and hopefully very cheaply.
They are only testing the waters to see how much resolve you have, and to see if you are willing to take the sure thing by offering you enough to cover your attorney fees and maybe a thousand or two for your trouble. They get more people than you can imagine this way because people get scared of potentially losing in court. You should expect that you will have one or more offers before going to court.
They are also hoping that your attorney won't be confident enough with his/her litigation abilities to go to court against their lawyers and will advise you to take the money and run. It is very rare that any lemon law settlement offer would include a new car which is what the law entitles you to.
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