LA HABRA : ‘Lemon Car’ Suit Reaps $80,000 Award

A woman won an $80,000 award from an Orange County Superior Court jury Tuesday under the state automobile “Lemon Law” for the trouble she suffered with her 1987 Sterling, which she sent to the repair shop about 20 times in a vain effort to fix a variety of electrical glitches.

Glenda Hauth, 47, said the headlights on the British-made, $25,000 car sometimes went out when she went over a bump, and the electric seat adjustment, radio and mirrors often failed to work. But mechanics at three dealerships couldn’t repair most of the problems.

“One time the headlights went out and I had to drive 10 miles in the dark,” Hauth said. “Eventually, I stopped driving the car because it wasn’t safe. Every time I took it in, they’d say it was repaired and then about a week later, boom, it would hit again.”

Hauth’s attorney, Lawrence Hutchens of Downey, said he believes the jury award is the largest ever under the law, which requires manufacturers to replace or repurchase a car if they cannot properly repair a defect that affects a car’s value or safety.

Officials with Austin Rover Cars of North America, distributor of Sterling, and the firm’s attorney, Gary Yates, could not be reached for comment on the decision.

Juror Estelle Duncan said she and other jurors thought the auto company “did not follow through; they never tried to solve her problems,” Duncan said. “They passed the buck. . . . It was definitely a lemon.”

Hauth said she was pleased with the verdict, but would have much preferred to have had the car run properly from the start.

“No matter what the award was, it can’t compensate for all the anguish that they put you through,” she said. “I’m glad it’s over with; I’m glad that they finally were shown that they can’t do this to people.”

The car began having problems soon after Hauth bought it from an Anaheim dealership, but she repeatedly tried to have it repaired because “I loved that car,” she said.

Hauth stopped driving the car at night at the end of 1988.