McMillan Law Group represents California Lemon Law clients on a contingency basis with no fee unless we win. Under California Civil Code § 1794(d), the manufacturer pays the prevailing consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs — separately from the consumer’s buyback, replacement, or cash settlement. Your recovery is not reduced by our fees. If we don’t win, you owe nothing.
How Our Fee Structure Works
- Zero retainer. No money up front.
- Zero hourly billing. You are not billed for our time or our costs.
- If we lose, you owe nothing. Our fee is contingent on your recovery.
- If we win, the manufacturer pays our fees — under § 1794(d) — separately from your underlying buyback or settlement. Your recovery is paid in full to you.
Why This Is Possible: § 1794(d)
The California Legislature recognized in 1970 that lemon-law claims are typically too small to justify private legal representation without fee shifting. Civil Code § 1794(d) requires the manufacturer to pay the prevailing consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees. This is one-way fee shifting — the consumer never pays the manufacturer’s fees even if the consumer loses.
Full explanation: attorney fee shifting under California lemon law.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Example settlement (hypothetical):
- Vehicle purchase price: $48,000
- Buyback amount paid to consumer: $46,500 (after mileage offset, plus collateral charges)
- Civil penalty negotiated: $15,000
- Attorney’s fees paid by manufacturer to McMillan Law Group: $35,000
- Net to consumer: $61,500
- Out of pocket: $0
The attorney’s fee is a separate payment by the manufacturer. The consumer’s recovery — buyback + civil penalty — is paid in full to the consumer.
What “Win” Means
“Win” in this context means a recovery for the consumer — buyback, replacement, cash-and-keep settlement, or favorable judgment. Settlement counts as winning under California’s “prevailing buyer” standard. We collect our fee only when there is a recovery.