What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio
Last year, I financed a 2014 Ford Focus. It was used with 7300 miles on it, perfect condition. During the transaction, I was never made aware of the transmission factory recall. I was given a carfax, but failed to see the open recall, and the salesman failed to mention it. Roughly two months after purchase, I noticed the car shuttering which started the downward spiral of clutch fixes.
This past August, I received a letter from what I now understand to be a "ambulance chaser" lawyer. He said he has dealt with the class action suit against Ford for the Focus/Fiesta debacle. I agreed to take him on in the pre-arbitration or pre-litigation (?) stages, and agreed to pay zero (0) dollars for service unless a suitable settlement was made. I was finally contacted yesterday and was told the Ford attorney agreed to 7500 dollars for damages, 4K to be paid to me and 3.5K to my lawyer, totaling 7,500 dollars total for settlement. I was a little hesitant, and only agreed over the phone. I was emailed the final paperwork and decided to get a second opinion before finalizing. The lawyer is based in Michigan and I am Ohio.
I have several questions.
1. Am I legally bounded to this agreement? I am not exactly thrilled with the settlement agreement, and again, decided to get a second opinion. My second opinion was unsure if I should proceed on my own, but he also said they due to the Ford dealership not verbally disclosing the defect, I may be eligible for a suit under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practice Act. The only paperwork I signed, as mentioned above and via email, was the pre-arbitration agreement and that I could cancel. I'm just afraid I will have to pay out 3.5K to an attorney I choose to not go with.
2. Given that I did not notice (which I will admit is my own fault) the open recall, but that it was also left unmentioned by my salesman, do I even have any kind of recourse available?
3. Given that my vehicle was purchased used, should I just take the aforementioned settlement and shut up?
My second opinion said I should hold off on signing anything, and all emails were forwarded. I should hear back my Monday, but I was hoping for some quicker advice.
4. For lemon law, is 3.5K about the going rate for a lawyer? I know most take 33 percent, but considering the payout is not nearly as adequate to say a bodily injury claim, I figured that it may be normal for a fixed, higher rate for this kind of thing.
Any feedback would be awesome.
Last year, I financed a 2014 Ford Focus. It was used with 7300 miles on it, perfect condition. During the transaction, I was never made aware of the transmission factory recall. I was given a carfax, but failed to see the open recall, and the salesman failed to mention it. Roughly two months after purchase, I noticed the car shuttering which started the downward spiral of clutch fixes.
This past August, I received a letter from what I now understand to be a "ambulance chaser" lawyer. He said he has dealt with the class action suit against Ford for the Focus/Fiesta debacle. I agreed to take him on in the pre-arbitration or pre-litigation (?) stages, and agreed to pay zero (0) dollars for service unless a suitable settlement was made. I was finally contacted yesterday and was told the Ford attorney agreed to 7500 dollars for damages, 4K to be paid to me and 3.5K to my lawyer, totaling 7,500 dollars total for settlement. I was a little hesitant, and only agreed over the phone. I was emailed the final paperwork and decided to get a second opinion before finalizing. The lawyer is based in Michigan and I am Ohio.
I have several questions.
1. Am I legally bounded to this agreement? I am not exactly thrilled with the settlement agreement, and again, decided to get a second opinion. My second opinion was unsure if I should proceed on my own, but he also said they due to the Ford dealership not verbally disclosing the defect, I may be eligible for a suit under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practice Act. The only paperwork I signed, as mentioned above and via email, was the pre-arbitration agreement and that I could cancel. I'm just afraid I will have to pay out 3.5K to an attorney I choose to not go with.
2. Given that I did not notice (which I will admit is my own fault) the open recall, but that it was also left unmentioned by my salesman, do I even have any kind of recourse available?
3. Given that my vehicle was purchased used, should I just take the aforementioned settlement and shut up?
My second opinion said I should hold off on signing anything, and all emails were forwarded. I should hear back my Monday, but I was hoping for some quicker advice.
4. For lemon law, is 3.5K about the going rate for a lawyer? I know most take 33 percent, but considering the payout is not nearly as adequate to say a bodily injury claim, I figured that it may be normal for a fixed, higher rate for this kind of thing.
Any feedback would be awesome.