Calif. Woman Beats Honda in Court Over Mpg
A California woman’s small claims court victory against Honda could have a huge impact on the global auto giant.
On Wednesday, Honda was ordered to pay Heather Peters for misleading her about the gas mileage her Civic Hybrid would achieve, and other car owners could follow in the steps of the former lawyer who took on a corporate giant, and won.
“I couldn’t be happier, I couldn’t be more excited,” Peters said of her legal victory.
To many, the complaint that her 2006 hybrid failed to get the advertised 50 miles per gallon seemed like just another frivolous lawsuit.
After making a software updated recommended by Honda to try and improve her mileage, she says it got even worse, struggling to even achieve 30 miles per gallon.
So Peters took on the automaker in small claims court, dropping out of several class action suits that offered dissatisfied customers a couple hundred dollars each. Peters argued her own case.
“I decided to go it alone, Judge Judy-style,” she tells CBS News.
A Superior Court commissioner sided with Peters, awarding her almost $10,000 on Wednesday, and citing Honda for misleading language that promised, “plenty of horsepower while still sipping fuel.”