Hughes v. Chrysler Motors Corp.

Mr. Hughes bought a new car in 1990. It was, unfortunately, a lemon, a fact admitted by all parties. After the manufacturer failed to respond within the time limits set by law, Mr. Hughes sued the manufacturer, Chrysler, seeking among other things the amount of money he paid for the van as pecuniary damages. Under Wisconsin's "lemon law," any pecuniary damages awarded to a successful plaintiff are doubled. Chrysler argues that the purchase price of the car to the consumer is not a pecuniary damage within the meaning of the lemon law. We disagree. One purpose of the law, among others, is to…