Buying or leasing a car can be a harrowing experience even when our automobile dealer is playing by the rules. But too often car dealers break the law and take advantage of unsuspecting customers. Mehri & Skalet has led the fight against unscrupulous sales practices in New Jersey and has successfully forced automobile dealers to return millions of dollars to aggrieved consumers.

Often, car dealers will unjustly overcharge customers for obtaining title and vehicle registrations. The experience of John Romano is typical. In 1999, Mr. Romano purchased a Dodge Caravan from a large automobile dealership in New Jersey. On his sales contract, the dealer represented to Mr. Romano that obtaining title and registration from the DMV would cost him $145. In fact, the DMV only charged $100.50 for these services. The dealer pocketed the $44.50 difference and never informed Mr. Romano that he had been overcharged. Mr. Romano was not alone. Discovery revealed that the dealership had overcharged 94% of its customers. Compounding the injury, the automobile dealer failed to provide Mr. Romano with notice of his rights as required by New Jersey consumer protection laws.

Mr. Romano filed a class action lawsuit against a group of automobile dealers. After extensive litigation, Mehri & Skalet and co-counsel settled the case and obtained a cash refund of $54 (in addition to other relief) to every person who purchased or leased a vehicle from the defendants between mid-1996 and mid-2002. Part of the settlement required the defendants to promise to refrain from such deceptive practices in the future.

Since that first case, Mehri & Skalet has filed and settled class actions against dozens of other automobile dealers in New Jersey. These cases - and court documents - are listed below. When consumers band together to challenge the automobile industry, everyone wins.