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MOTOR VEHICLE DEFECTS & FLORIDA LEMON LAW

Anyone who may have purchased or leased a defective vehicle may be entitled to legal resources under the Florida Lemon Law. Florida Lemon Law covers defects or conditions that substantially impair the use, value or safety of a new or demonstrator vehicle (these are called “nonconformities”). The Florida Lemon Law protects consumers from accidents caused by defective vehicles or vehicle equipment. All automobile and their manufacturers are required to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). These laws refer to any automobile such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles.

We have to accept that not all accidents are preventable.  Although consumers can’t prevent motor vehicle accidents, they can protect themselves from accidents caused by defects. If you have been injured in an accident that involved a defective vehicle, it is important to hire an attorney that can assist with your injuries. At Darfoor Law Firm, we can help you navigate the law and protect your rights. We will review your case and provide professional legal options and any compensation you may be entitled. Contact Darfoor Law Firm at 1-833-DARFOOR for a free initial legal consultation to discuss your case.

The Pivotal Law for Consumer Protection in Florida:

A Primer on Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA)

In Florida, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act protects consumers by providing private remedies based on consumer protection law. Sometimes referred to as the “Little FTC Act.” this Act covers unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable acts or practices. Whereas the FTC Act doesn’t provide private cause of action, FDUTPA does provide private causes of caution.

Why the Creation of FDUTPA?

The purpose of the FDUTPA is to:

1. simplify, clarify, and modernize the law governing consumer protection, unfair methods of competition, and unconscionable, deceptive, and unfair trade practices.

2. protect the consuming public and legitimate business enterprises from those who engage in unfair methods of competition, or unconscionable, deceptive or unfair acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.

3. make state consumer protection and enforcement consistent with established policies of federal law relating to consumer protection.

Who does FDUTPA Protect?

Broadly speaking it protects the rights of the consuming public at large. This encompasses individuals, children, business, firm, association, joint venture, partnership, estate, trust, business trust, syndicate, fiduciary, corporation, any commercial entity, or any other group or combination. To be protected, the consumer must suffer the injury while participating in either trade or commerce. So what does “trade or commerce” mean? Essentially it includes advertising, soliciting, providing, offering, or distributing, whether by sale, rental, or otherwise, of any good or service, or any property, whether tangible or intangible, or any other article, commodity, or thing of value, wherever situated.

FDUTPA requires three elements to be met to recover, (1) a deceptive act or unfair practice; (2) causation; and (3) actual damages. Therefore if the conduct complained of doesn’t cause an actual damage to the consumer, there can be no recovery.  One of the biggest incentives under FDUTPA is the ability of consumers to recover attorney’s fees and court costs.

For a consultation with an experienced attorney to determine whether you have an actionable claim under FDUTPA, contact attorney Kweku Darfoor at 754-800-5657. 

Cars with prior mechanical problems can be easily misrepresented by dealers.  Since it may be nearly impossible for a layperson to detect prior mechanical work upon an inspection at a dealership, dealers have an incentive to cover up defects rather than disclose them.  With the wide use of lemon laws across the United States, manufacturers and dealers may resell vehicles without disclosing whether they were or ought to be lemons.  This fraudulent practice is known as “lemon laundering.” 

When a vehicle which should be considered a lemon is purchased by a dealer as a trade-in, the dealer, to create good will with the customer, may conceal the defect.  Even if a defect that would deem a vehicle a lemon is repaired and subsequently sold, other defects of the vehicle may go uncorrected. 

Dealers and manufacturers must disclose prior mechanical issues both when selling and buying vehicles in order to protect any future owners from being victimized.

If you have been the victim of undisclosed mechanical problems, contact Fort Lauderdale auto fraud lawyer Kweku Darfoorof Darfoor Law Firm, P.A. at (754) 800-5657.

As I begin to write this post, I first want to take a second to remember the victims’ that perished and extend my condolences to their grieving family members. Secondly, this accident was completely avoidable if the proper road planning, safety measures, and maintenance had been rendered.

Writing this from the confines of my office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the USA, I may have a different perspective than many that reside in Ghana. I drove to my office this morning on roads that may be considered very well maintained by some in Ghana. However, I know that our average roads don’t compare to the average roads that I have seen in parts of Europe. All things aside, Ghana’s road network is certainly in desperate need of an overhaul for the safety of our nation, to attract the type of investors Ghana craves, and overall to allow for efficiency in the transporting of goods, labour, and people. Ghana has many models it could follow to achieve this aim, primarily the American interstate highway system which was influenced by the German Autobahn system. (As an aside, isn’t it amazing that the German autobahn has no speed limits on majority of their road network, but fatalities are much lower than other places that have limitations on speed?) The George-Bush “Highway” that was constructed in Ghana some years ago is more reminiscent of an inter-city road normally seen in other parts of the more developed world. Why do Ghana’s political class need to be spurred by their constituents before acting in the best interests of the State? This issue is a national defense issue, a public health issue, a security issue, and a safety issue. Funds needed for this type of project can readily be obtained from various lending sources (PPP has gained fashion in Ghana lately). However, consoling the victims after the wake of this tragedy, and pacifying the families with small gratuity is not in the spirit of having the people’s best interest at heart.

The evolution of Ghana’s nascent democracy hinges on the development of infrastructural services that benefit all; not merely an increase of GDP that doesn’t seem to be evident in the basic human services that are inherent rights of its people.

I task the bold lawyers in Ghana to make this case a precedent-setting case by pursuing damages for the victims’ families against the responsible parties. The publicly owned bus company, the manufacturers of the bus and/or truck, the truck company ownership, and all parties that may have had some form of responsibility in this devasting accident. Though I am not familiar with Ghanaian laws regarding negligence and tort, the acclaimed lawyers in Ghana should be able to decipher the legal issues and possible claims.

Let us not sit back and continue to provide illegitimate reasons why things can not change; rather let us analyze the continuing impact of these fatalities on countless victims’ whom may have had the course of their life altered with the loss of a provider.

The EB-5 visa for Immigrant Investors is a U.S. visa created by the Immigration Act 1990. This visa provides a means to obtain a green card for foreigners who invest money in the U.S. The first stipulation to obtaining the visa requires an individual to invest $1,000,000 (or at least $500,000 in a “Targeted Employment Area” – high unemployment or rural area), which creates or preserves at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers, with the exclusion of the investor and their immediate family.

Currently, a new Pilot Program allows for investments to be made directly in a job-generating commercial enterprise (new, or existing – “Troubled Business”), or a “Regional Center” – a 3rd party-managed investment vehicle (private or public). The responsibility of creating the requisite jobs will fall on the 3rd party. Contact a knowledgeable U.S. immigration lawyer to guide you through the creation of a regional center.

So how does it work for the foreign investor and their family? If the investor’s petition is approved, the investor and their dependents will be granted conditional permanent residence which shall be valid for two years. Accordingly, within the 90 day period before the conditional permanent residence expires, the investor must submit evidence documenting that the full required investment has been made and that 10 jobs have been maintained, or 10 jobs have been created or will be created within a reasonable time period.

The EB-5 visa has traditionally been underutilized by foreign investors. However, the popularity of the immigrant investor visa has been steadily picking up in the last few years, after a few tweaks by the U.S. government. To gain additional information, contact a U.S. immigration lawyer.