GM Fined $110,000 Under Ohio 'Lemon' Law

[Jay!]

from Reuters.com; August 01, 2002 02:11 PM ET

GM Fined $110,000 Under 'Lemon' Law
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. said on Thursday that it agreed to pay $110,000 to settle allegations by the Ohio attorney general that the automaker failed to comply with the state's "lemon law" against vehicles with chronic defects.

The Ohio attorney general filed a lawsuit against GM in April after the automaker found it had failed to mark the titles of 515 cars and trucks with their troubled history. Under Ohio state laws, vehicles that have been labeled as "lemons" must be properly identified even after they are fixed and resold.

"There is nothing wrong with the vehicles themselves. The problem is that the vehicles were not properly labeled," GM spokesman Jay Cooney said.

GM agreed to repurchase 23 vehicles at a cost of $398,000 from owners who were not aware they had bought troubled vehicles or were not given a proper warranty. Other owners were told by dealers about the problems.

An additional $150,000 penalty against GM was suspended as long as the automaker remains in full compliance with Ohio law during the next seven years, the Ohio attorney general said in a statement.

Wait. If there's nothing wrong with the vehicles, why are they marked as lemons in the first place?