The History Of Lemon Law

The Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act was enacted in 1975 to govern warranties on all consumer products.

It was sponsored by Democrats Senator Warren G Magnuson of Washington and US Representative John E Moss of California. Senator Frank Moss of Utah co-sponsored the Act with Mr Magnuson.

The law was enacted by Congress in response to the then widespread misuse by sellers of express warranties and disclaimers. It was brought in to effect to make warranties easier to understand by the buyers and ensure they were enforceable so manufacturers and vendors could be held to account for any defective products they supplied or sold, The Act also gave the Federal Trade Commission, which is the body that protects consumer rights and interests in the US, better powers to do its work and ensure customers were not taken advantage of by rogue traders.

Although consumer products are not legally required to have warranties, if one is given it must comply with the Magnusson-Moss Act.