Newsletter, May 2010

Florida's Lemon Law applies only to new or demo motor vehicles (generally cars and pickup trucks) as well as the chassis of a recreational vehicle. There is no motorcycle or boat Lemon Law in Florida. That does not mean consumers of these and other products won't get refunds when dissatisfied with a purchase. In addition, while a Lemon Law refund on a car will be paid by the manufacturer, in a lawsuit-based refund or revocation case the seller could be on the hook.

Below are links to a Wall Street Journal blog report and a Miami Herald article about a federal jury in Ft. Lauderdale that found a large Florida yacht broker liable for $1.8 million after selling a yacht that was deemed unseaworthy. The owner is from Rhode Island and bought a 66-foot sport fishing boat in Florida after he saw the boat for sale on the Internet site of HMY, the Florida yacht broker. The buyer sued HMY in 2007, claiming the brokerage misrepresented the yacht's condition. Apparently the broker's attorneys based much of their defense on the "as is'" clause contained in the sale contract, describing the situation as a case of buyer's remorse. The plaintiff countered that the "as is" clause was not valid because of several misrepresentations about the boat by the seller as well as vague language in the contract.

Please note that the sympathies of the blogger seem to lie with creating a yacht Lemon law.