California lemon law attorney fees: who pays your lawyer?

The first thing many people ask a lemon law lawyer is what it will cost. In California, the answer starts with one sentence in the Song-Beverly Act, the statute behind California's lemon law. If you win, the manufacturer has to pay your reasonable attorney's fees and costs, on top of what it owes you for the car. That rule shapes how lemon law lawyers get paid, and it changes the math for one driver facing a large manufacturer.

The rule has limits. Court costs, formal settlement offers and the newer opt-in procedures can all affect what you end up owing or receiving, so read any fee agreement with them in mind.

What Civil Code section 1794(d) requires

Section 1794(d) says that if the buyer prevails, the buyer "shall be allowed by the court to recover as part of the judgment" the costs and expenses of the case, "including attorney's fees based on actual time expended," that the court finds were reasonably incurred. Three phrases do most of the work. "Shall" makes the award mandatory when you win, so the judge decides how much was reasonable, not whether fees are deserved. "Prevails" means the rule helps only a buyer who wins. "Actual time expended" means the fee is built from the hours the lawyers really spent, which the court reviews and can reduce.

The award is a separate sum added to the judgment and paid by the manufacturer. Your buyback or replacement is figured on its own, and the statute doesn't take the fee award out of it. What your own lawyer may receive from your recovery is a separate question that only your fee agreement answers.

How much does a California lemon law lawyer cost?

Because the manufacturer pays a winning buyer's fees, lemon law lawyers usually don't bill consumers by the hour the way a business lawyer might. They look mainly to the fee award, or to fees the manufacturer agrees to pay in a settlement. Arrangements still vary from firm to firm. An agreement may also provide for a percentage of the recovery in some situations, and firms handle case costs in different ways. For your case, the real answer is whatever your written agreement says.

Our written fee agreement spells this out, and we walk through it with you before you sign, in English, Spanish or Armenian. The case review itself is free and doesn't commit you to hiring us.

Fees and costs are different things

Lawyers use "costs" for out-of-pocket case expenses, separate from the lawyer's time. In a lemon law case these can include court filing fees, deposition transcripts, and the charge for an independent inspection of the car. When you prevail, section 1794(d) covers reasonable costs and expenses along with fees.

Costs matter most when a case doesn't go your way. Under California's general rule in Code of Civil Procedure section 1032, the side that wins a lawsuit is entitled to recover its court costs from the side that loses. Section 1794(d) shifts attorney's fees only toward a winning buyer, but cost rules can run in either direction. Any agreement you sign should say who bears the costs the firm advanced if there is no recovery.

Settlement offers under section 998

A manufacturer can make a formal settlement offer under Code of Civil Procedure section 998. If you reject a valid 998 offer and then don't get a better result, you lose the right to recover your own post-offer costs (which in a lemon law case can include attorney's fees) and must pay some or all of the manufacturer's post-offer costs. In Madrigal v. Hyundai Motor America (2025), the California Supreme Court held that a buyer who rejects a 998 offer and later settles does not necessarily escape those rules. The parties can still agree on how costs and fees are allocated in the settlement itself. A 998 offer deserves a careful, written explanation from your lawyer, and under California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2(a) the decision whether to settle belongs to you.

Magnuson-Moss uses a weaker fee rule

The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act also lets consumers sue over broken warranties, and it has its own fee provision. A consumer who finally prevails "may be allowed" fees and costs, unless the court decides in its discretion that an award would be inappropriate (15 U.S.C. section 2310(d)(2)). California's version says "shall." Under Song-Beverly, a winning buyer gets reasonable fees, while under Magnuson-Moss the judge first decides whether fees fit the case at all. Federal warranty claims still matter in some situations, including certain used car cases, but the consumer has less certainty about fees.

Opted-in manufacturers: fee disputes before a lawsuit

For manufacturers that elected the AB 1755 procedures, a buyer who wants to keep the option of civil penalties must send a pre-suit notice first. The lemon law process page walks through that notice. If the manufacturer responds within 30 days with a qualifying buyback or replacement offer, the offer must include reasonable attorney's fees and costs when the buyer has a lawyer. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 871.24(f), a disagreement over those fees before any lawsuit goes to neutral, binding arbitration. The same subdivision says a dispute over the fee amount, by itself, isn't enough to show the manufacturer's offer falls short of the statute. So an argument about fees can't be used to call the offer inadequate, and an arbitrator settles it instead of a judge. The 2025 lemon law changes page links the state's current list of manufacturers that opted in.

State-certified arbitration programs work differently. They are free to consumers, and you don't need a lawyer to use one. If you do hire one, the Department of Consumer Affairs notes that the lawyer's fees may not be covered unless the manufacturer allows the arbitrator to include them.

What California requires in a contingency fee agreement

A contingency agreement is one where the lawyer's fee depends on the outcome. Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, it must be in writing, and the lawyer must give you a copy signed by both of you when you enter into it. The agreement must include:

• The contingency fee rate you and the lawyer agreed on.
• How case costs and disbursements will affect the fee and your recovery.
• Whether, and how much, you could be asked to pay for related matters the agreement doesn't cover.
• A statement that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable between attorney and client.

If an agreement leaves one of these out, you can choose to void it, and the lawyer is then limited to a reasonable fee. California's advertising rules add a matching protection. An ad that says there is no charge unless you recover must also say whether you will be responsible for costs (Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1, Comment [3]). Compare any ad you saw with the agreement you are handed.

Questions to ask any lemon law firm before you sign

Bring these to any consultation, including one with us. Good answers are specific and match what the written agreement says.

1. Who will handle my case day to day? Ask whether you will deal with the attorney or a case manager, and who will appear at depositions and mediation.
2. If we lose, will I owe anything for costs the firm advanced? Ask to see where the agreement answers this.
3. Will you take any part of my recovery, or only fees the manufacturer pays? Ask what happens in a settlement where fees are negotiated.
4. Who decides whether to accept an offer? The answer should be you.
5. How will you keep me updated? Ask how often, whether by phone, text or email, and in which language.
6. Did my manufacturer opt into the new procedures, and how does that change the plan?
7. What should I do with the car while the claim is pending? Payments, insurance and whether to keep driving it all come up.
8. How are fees handled if I end the relationship early? The agreement should say.

Before you sign anything

If a firm has already handed you an agreement, check it against the list above before you sign. You can read about Sam Setyan, who has spent his career representing individuals against large companies. Or request a free case review and go through your questions with him directly.