The History of the Lemon Law

Depending on what you consider a "lemon," so-called lemon laws in the U.S. are either a relatively recent phenomenon or a long-standing tradition. People typically think of used vehicles when they hear someone talking about having bought a lemon. On that front, state and federal consumer-protection laws have been around only since 1975. But if "lemon" ultimately describes any substandard product offloaded on an unsuspecting consumer, then the U.S. has a lengthy history of that kind of law dating back to 1906.

    First Consumer Laws

        Pulitzer-prize-winning author Upton Sinclair can take credit for providing the impetus for the first consumer-protection laws in the U.S. His 1906 novel "The Jungle" depicted horrific conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered federal agents into the meatpacking plants to see for themselves. They came back with stories far worse than those in Sinclair's book. Roosevelt responded by creating the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, which the U.S. Congress passed into law on June 30, 1906.
    Protections Expand

        The 1906 acts marked the first time that U.S. consumers were given legal protection from unscrupulous or dangerous business practises. The creation of the Federal Trade Commission in 1914 provided consumers with further protection from deceitful business practises and brought in regulations to prevent collusion in the marketplace. In the 1930s, a flurry of government activity at all levels during President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal era saw the creation of a number of regulatory bodies to protect consumers. Laws protecting consumers from deceptive marketing, risks to their health and uninformed buying decisions are now commonplace.
    Used Car Laws

        The federal law most relevant to protecting people when they've purchased a lemon vehicle came into effect in 1975 as an amendment to Federal Trade Commission provisions. Known as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1975, the new law stopped short of requiring product manufacturers to provide a warranty, but did require that any warranty on offer be explained to potential purchasers, including whether the warranty offered full or limited protection.
    Who Were Magnuson and Moss?

        Warren Magnuson was a U.S. senator from 1944 to 1980. He spent the last 20 years of his career focusing on consumer-protection laws, and he and other crusaders of the day--including Ralph Nader--are credited with the creation of a long list of consumer law covering everything from drinking water and flammable fabrics to credit advertising and door-to-door sales. John Moss served in the House of Representatives from 1952 to 1978, during which time he helped create the Consumer Product Safety Act and the Freedom of Information Act. He and Magnuson co-authored the FTC amendment that bears their names.
    State Lemon Laws


The first state to pass an automobile-specific lemon law was Connecticut, in 1982. All states now have versions of these laws, although the details and the legal protections vary from state to state as well as federally. The federal Magnuson-Moss Act, for instance, covers only written warranties, and only as they apply to goods, not services. The definition of what constitutes a lemon also varies around the country.