Automobile Fraud

Odometer Tampering, Lemon Laundering, and Concealment of Salvage or Other Adverse History

Millions of consumers are defrauded each year by dealers not disclosing a vehicle’s wreck, flood, or salvage history, true odometer reading, prior use, lemon-law buyback history, or repaired damage to brand new cars. Other frauds involve vehicle titles, “yo-yo” transactions, and sale of gray market, cloned, or stolen vehicles.

How to obtain punitive damages, rescission, treble damages, or $10,000 statutory damages, and attorney fees:

• Federal and state requirements for titles (including electronic titling), odometer readings, “yo-yo” sales, undisclosed damage to brand-new cars
• Investigation and remedies regarding salvage, prior wreck, and lemon laundering scams
• 50-state analysis of automobile fraud laws
• Best practices in turning fraud claims into large punitive damages
• Advantages of warranty, UDAP, tort, and statutory claims.

Winning Investigation and Litigation Techniques

Follow the title: How to obtain and utilize a vehicle’s title history

Follow the metal: How to inspect the vehicle

Follow the money: Finding hidden dealer assets, liability of wholesalers, auctions, floor planners, dealer bonds, and more.
 

Effective Practice Tools

• Sample discovery, complaints, and trial documents
• Detailed advice on every aspect of an automobile fraud litigation
• Client retainer agreements and sample notices
• Sample NMVTIS and Carfax reports and 50 states’ forms to request title history
• NHTSA letters and important regulatory and legislative history
   

Praise

"The National Consumer Law Center has compiled a standard reference set that should make consumer law accessible and profitable for private lawyers. Written by the leading national experts in the field, it is a helpful balance of scholarly analysis and practice pointers." — Maryland Bar Journal