Asked over 1 year ago - Irvine, CA
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Toshiba laptop computer fails while under 2-year warranty. repair is authorized and Laptop is sent to Toshiba for repair. Toshiba is "unable to repair because they dont have the parts". Toshiba sends a dissimilar replacement computer and claims thats all they can do.
Demand for rectification requesting repair or comparable replacement sent certified with no response. Seeking a lawyer to represent / remedy.
I took the liberty of changing your listed Practice area because although you seem to have a defective computer it's not in the products liability area of law which involves personal injuries. Your best bet is to review your warranty language and see if Toshiba had a right to replace your broken computer in the manner that they did. Or you can contact a consumer law attorney. I can't imagine this situation being handled on contingency because of the likely amount at jssue but I could be wrong. Best of luck.
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I agree with my colleagues. This may be a matter best suited for the Small Claims Court. Keep in mind that in order for you to prevail on a lawsuit, you will need to prove damages. If Toshiba no longer has that particular model, but replaces it with another model that has better features, you may have a hard time establishing damages. Be sure to consult your own attorney to protect your legal rights.
I tend to disagree with my colleagues here:
That said, I do not think I would bring this as a CLRA action.
I would however consider bringing it as a Song Beverly cause and/or a B&P17200 cause IF the problem is widespread. Clearly Song Beverly requires them to have replacement parts available and if they did not fix within 30 days they are liable pursuant to SB under Civil Code section 1793.2.
I have two problems with your case:
1- You appear to have accepted the replacement goods, which could create an issue;
2- You live in Orange County. The problem here is that there are so many people on juries and in robes who are "business friendly" folks, which translates into "consumer unfriendly" folks and they hold all the power over your matter regarding remedies. We have a "statewide" lemon law practice but no longer take cases in Orange County as even the court of appeal, or should I say especially the court of appeal, is heavily anti-consumer.
Look up some local lemon attorneys and best of luck with it.
It looks to me like you are right, Toshiba is wrong, and you can probably do something about it. As you obviously know, California has some very special consumer protection laws and they will probably help you out in your situation. California’s Udap law is one of the ones you mentioned and you seem to have covered most of the applicable laws except for the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. Frankly, you could sue them yourself in your local small claims court or you could talk to a California Consumer Law lawyer (like Scott Kaufman). Obviously all of these laws can be confusing, which is why you might need to just talk to a local Consumer Law attorney who deals with your kind of case from the very start. You can call Scott Kaufman in Santa Clara at 408.727.8882. Or you can look for one here on Avvo under the Find a Lawyer tab or call your local attorney's Bar Association and ask for a referral to a Consumer Law attorney near you. Last, you can go to this web site page for a Free Online 50 State National List of Consumer Law Lawyers (http://www.ohiolemonlaw.com/ocll-site/ocll-loca...) and find one near you (lawyers don’t pay to get listed here and most of them are members of the only national association for Consumer Law lawyers, NACA.net). But act quickly because for every legal right you have, there is only a limited amount of time to actually file a lawsuit in court or your rights expire (it's called the statute of limitations), so don't waste your time getting to a Consumer Law attorney and finding out what your rights are. If this answer was helpful, please give it a Vote UP review below. Thanks for asking and good luck.
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