Understanding the Timelines of Lemon Law Buybacks

In the world of toxicology studies, the meticulous planning and execution is absolutely necessary. All FDA regulations and timelines governing toxicology studies must be followed or you can literally put people lives in jeopardy (remember the Vioxx scandal?). And when it comes to lemon law buybacks, the same principles apply. There is a process that must be followed and that process is typically strictly overseen by a government agency. In the case of toxicology studies, it’s the FDA. In the case of a lemon law buyback, it might be the local Attorney General’s office. Regardless, there is a timeline and process that must be followed and it’s critical to do it right.

Just as it’s important when manufacturing a drug to follow all the regulatory timelines, so too is it critical that the timelines set out in the lemon law buyback process be properly adhered to. If they are not, you could wind up with an ineffectual drug, or even worse, you could wind up injuring the person who takes the drug. Similarly, with a lemon law buyback, if you aren’t compliant with the timelines put in place by the local Attorney General, you’re going to have a bitter lemon on your hands. So just as you would handle a toxicology study, you need to make sure the proper attention is spent when handling a lemon law buyback.

As in pharmaceutical regulations, lemon laws also have strict mandates. Just like the FDA requires a toxicology study to be conducted in a certain amount of time, so too do most states have a set period of time in which you need to conduct the how long does a lemon law buyback take. Failure to follow these timelines can have devastating consequences. Per our Vioxx example earlier, it can result in someone’s death. With respect to toxicology studies, if a manufacturer fails to follow the stated timeline in the toxicology study, you put lives at risk. With a lemon law buyback, the timeline set forth can result in fines and jail time for the manufacturer. It can also result in a great deal of civil liability.

When conducting a pharmaceutical study, assuming you get the FDA approval, the next major road block for a pharmaceutical company to come through is proper resource allocation. In other words, you need to get those toxicology studies completed on time and on budget, but without sacrificing quality. For a lemon law buyback, you likewise need to properly allocate your resources. Failure to do so will result in having to settle sooner than you wanted, losing a significant amount of money and perhaps even damaging the reputation of your company.

Just as the FDA has requirements with respect to the toxicology study, so too do the various state lemon laws. Some of the common elements with regards to their timelines are as follows:

This is where you really start feeling the sting of having failed to properly plan your lemon law buyback. Unfortunately, with these programs, failure to follow timelines is rarely met with sympathy. Regrettably, the government moves slowly when it comes to pharmaceuticals, but they fire off the civil jail time and fines like there is no tomorrow.