Woman Sues Honda in Small Claims Court Over Hybrid MPG

A Los Angeles woman is taking a unique road to suing Honda over her Honda Civic Hybrid’s low mileage performance. Instead of joining thousands others in the recent class action lawsuit settlement over the matter, she’s decided to take her case to small claims court.

Former lawyer Heather Peters wants Honda to pay for not delivering the 50 mpg her Civic Hybrid promised, arguing that Honda knew her car wouldn’t get the 50 mpg as advertised. She says that as her 2006 Civic Hybrid’s battery deteriorated over time, it barely got 30 mpg.

Peters says she never would have purchased the car had she known that, and would have purchased a regular Civic instead.

If Peters is successful, the payout will by many times higher than the few hundred dollars Class Members will receive from the Honda Civic Hybrid class action settlement. Peters is asking for $10,000.

However, the time, court costs and extreme amount of energy it will cost her to take on such a well-funded behemoth may outweigh the award – if she even wins.

Class action attorneys bear the brunt of the workload and costs associated with taking on corporations. As a lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit, the amount of time typically spent in a court room is limited, if at all. In addition, class action attorneys bankroll the costs of the court case, which could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. These costs include hiring expert witnesses, conducting case studies that are validated by industry experts, and all of the legal paperwork.

Class Members do not spend any time or money except to fill out a claim form and maybe pay for postage.

Peters says she has been contacted by other Honda Civic Hybrid owners interested in taking their chances in small-claims court. However, the time, money and energy it would take to do this is not worth it to others.

Class Members of the Honda Civic Hybrid class action settlement need only fill out a claim form by October 15, 2012, to cash in on an up to $200 cash reward or a rebate worth up to $1,000 on the purchase or lease of a new Honda or Acura.

Go to www.HCHSettlement.com for more information.