Ford Lawsuit Exposes Lemon Law Abuse Machine

Media Contact:
Nick Mirman
nick@cmpublicaffairs.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 24, 2026) — Jaime Huff, President and CEO of the Civil Justice Association of California, released the following statement in response to Ford Motor Company’s lawsuit against prolific plaintiff’s firm Quill & Arrow, alleging the firm committed fraud in its lemon law practice:

“California’s lemon law was written to protect consumers, not create lawsuit mills and increase costs for everyday consumers.

“California’s lemon law attorneys have largely moved past consumer protection and into paycheck protection. The type of conduct alleged in Ford’s suit – including fabricated billing and inflated fees – is exactly the kind of conduct that drives up costs for everyone.

“Real consumer protection means fixing defective cars and making consumers whole. It does not mean giving trial lawyers a blank check to drag out cases, inflate fees and treat California’s courts like an ATM.

“These allegations should be a wake-up call. California must continue reforming its lemon law so it works for consumers - not just the lawyers who have turned it into a business model.”

Ford’s lawsuit alleges that Quill & Arrow used California’s lemon law to carry out a large-scale billing scheme involving fabricated attorney time, inflated fee requests and work allegedly performed by low-cost non-attorneys but billed at California attorney rates. 

California’s lemon law was designed to protect consumers who buy or lease defective vehicles. The law allows consumers to seek relief from manufacturers and permits attorneys to recover reasonable fees for representing vehicle owners.

Those protections matter. Consumers with legitimate claims deserve timely repairs, replacements, refunds and fair treatment.

But California’s one-way attorney fee structure has also created powerful incentives for some plaintiffs’ lawyers to prolong litigation and maximize fee recoveries. In too many cases, the dispute becomes less about resolving the consumer’s vehicle problem and more about generating attorney fees.

That dynamic has helped fuel a surge in lemon law litigation across California. This has added pressure to already overburdened courts and increasing costs for consumers and businesses, while turning lemon law lawsuits into massive profit centers for attorneys.