An Orange County lemon law attorney based in Irvine

When you search for an Orange County lemon law attorney, you usually want answers to three things: whether your vehicle qualifies, what the process will ask of you, and who will actually handle it. This page answers those questions for drivers in Orange County, from Fullerton and Anaheim to Irvine, Huntington Beach and south county.

California's lemon law, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, requires a manufacturer to repurchase or replace a vehicle it cannot fix after a reasonable number of attempts under its warranty. The buyer, not the manufacturer, chooses between a refund and a replacement. What follows is general information about how those claims run in Orange County as of October 2026. It is not legal advice about your vehicle.

Our Irvine office

LaCour Trial Lawyers' Orange County office is at 18100 Von Karman Ave., Suite 850, Irvine, CA 92612, near John Wayne Airport. From there we work with clients across the county, including Irvine, Santa Ana, Tustin, Orange, Anaheim, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Westminster, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and San Clemente.

You do not have to come in. Most clients start with a phone call and send photos or PDFs of their purchase contract and repair orders. If you would rather meet, we can set a time at the Irvine office. Call (310) 853-3461.

Which court hears Orange County lemon law cases?

An Orange County lemon law lawsuit is filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. The court's court designation list (revised June 30, 2025) states that limited civil and unlimited civil cases are heard and tried at the Central Justice Center, and that complex civil cases go to the Civil Complex Center. The same list notes that civil actions must be e-filed.

• Central Justice Center: 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701. According to the court's location page, it handles unlimited and limited civil cases along with other matters.
• Civil Complex Center: 751 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana, CA 92701, for cases designated complex, such as some class actions. An individual buyback claim is ordinarily not a complex case.

Because civil filings are electronic, your lawyer files from the office, and routine hearings are attended by counsel. Because the designation list sends unlimited civil cases to the Central Justice Center, a lemon law case from Brea and one from Dana Point generally land in the same building.

Will I have to testify?

Many cases resolve without the client testifying. Lemon law claims often settle after the manufacturer reviews the repair history, or at mediation. Your part is mostly gathering documents, reviewing settlement terms and keeping the vehicle until the deal closes.

There are exceptions, and you should know them up front. You may need to answer written questions under oath. For manufacturers that opted in to California's 2025 procedures, each side may take a deposition of up to two hours early in the case. If a case does not settle and goes to trial in Santa Ana, you would testify. We prepare you for any of these, and we do not spring them on you.

How an Orange County lemon law case works

The same California statutes apply in every county. Here is the sequence, with links to guides that cover each step in depth.

1. Build the repair record. Each visit to an authorized dealer for the same problem is a repair attempt, even if the dealer could not duplicate it. The Tanner Act presumption in Civil Code § 1793.22(b) applies within 18 months or 18,000 miles: two or more repairs of a defect likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, four or more repairs of the same problem, or more than 30 cumulative days out of service. The first two also require that you directly notified the manufacturer at least once, when the warranty or owner's manual clearly disclosed that requirement. Claims outside the presumption can still succeed. Our "does my car qualify" tool walks you through the questions.
2. Get a free review. We tell you whether we see a claim and which rules apply to your manufacturer.
3. Send the right notice. For opted-in manufacturers, a buyer seeking a civil penalty must give written notice at least 30 days before suing, and the manufacturer has a chance to make an offer. See the 2025 changes under AB 1755.
4. File in Santa Ana if needed. Early disclosures and mediation follow on set timelines for opted-in manufacturers.
5. Resolve. A repurchase, a replacement, or a cash settlement in which you keep the vehicle. Read how long a lemon law case takes for typical stages.

What the manufacturer may owe you

Civil Code § 1793.2(d)(2) sets out restitution: the actual price paid or payable, including manufacturer-installed options and transportation charges, plus collateral charges such as sales tax and registration, and incidental damages such as towing and rental costs. The manufacturer may deduct an offset for use: the price times the miles driven before the first repair visit for the defect, divided by 120,000. A hypothetical example: on a $48,000 price with 6,000 miles before the first visit, the offset would be $2,400 ($48,000 × 6,000 ÷ 120,000). That is an illustration, not a prediction. Try your own numbers in the buyback calculator.

Under Civil Code § 1794, a willful violation can add a civil penalty of up to two times actual damages, and a buyer who prevails recovers attorney's fees and costs from the manufacturer. That is how we can take cases without charging you by the hour. See who pays lemon law attorney's fees.

Leases and business vehicles

If you lease, the lemon law can still apply. Leased vehicles can qualify, and a lease buyback works differently from a purchase; see our guide to leased-car lemon law. A vehicle bought for a business can also qualify if its gross vehicle weight is under 10,000 pounds and the business has no more than five vehicles registered in California, under the definition in § 1793.22(e)(2).

Deadlines to keep in mind

If the manufacturer opted in to the 2025 procedures, suit generally must be filed within one year after the express warranty expires and no later than six years after delivery, with some time added for repairs and notice. The Department of Consumer Affairs posts the list; manufacturer status should be checked there, not assumed. For manufacturers that did not opt in, the deadline is generally four years under the Commercial Code's warranty statute of limitations, and tolling rules can apply. Do not wait to find out which applies.

Help in Spanish

If Spanish is the language you are most comfortable in, tell us on the first call. Our team can explain your rights, review documents and keep you updated in Spanish. Hablamos español. For background, the state's Spanish-language lemon law Q&A is a good start.

Contact our Irvine office

LaCour Trial Lawyers handles California lemon law claims with trial counsel leading each case. Call (310) 853-3461 or send your repair orders through the free, confidential review form.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about California and federal law and about public records as of its date. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney–client relationship. Allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.