Hiring a Lemon Law Lawyer in Louisiana
The Louisiana lemon law for new cars, the rules for used cars, where to file a complaint, how to check a lawyer's license, and free help. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Louisiana: fee rules
| Rules on contingency fees | Contingent fees are allowed except where Rule 1.5(d) or other law prohibits them. The agreement must be in a writing signed by the client, and the client must get a copy or duplicate original when it is signed. It must state how the fee is figured, including percentages on settlement, trial or appeal, the litigation and other expenses deducted from the recovery, whether expenses come out before or after the fee is calculated, and any expenses the client owes whether or not they win. At the end, the lawyer must give a written statement of the outcome and the client's share. Contingent fees are banned for criminal defendants and for domestic relations fees contingent on a divorce or the amount of alimony, support or property settlement. |
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| If you disagree with a lawyer's bill | The Louisiana State Bar Association's Lawyer Fee Dispute Resolution Program handles minor attorney fee disputes between lawyers and clients (or between lawyers) through volunteer arbitrators. The LSBA charges a nominal administrative fee and may decline disputes that are too complex, involve many issues or parties, are pending elsewhere, or fall under a statutory scheme such as succession or workers' compensation. LSBA staff cannot give legal advice. Contact: (504) 619-0153 or (504) 619-0143. |
| If a lawyer takes your money | The LSBA Client Assistance Fund compensates clients who lose money or property due to a lawyer's dishonest conduct (not incompetence or failure to act), reimbursing up to $50,000 for thefts by a lawyer; interest and consequential damages are not paid, and fees are reimbursable only in limited cases, such as when the lawyer did no work. You must show the money or property reached the lawyer. Applying is free and no lawyer is needed; deadlines apply, so apply promptly. The fund also advises filing a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Contact: 601 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130-3427; (504) 566-1600 or (800) 421-5722, ext. 107. |
Louisiana rules to know first
| Lemon law for new cars | Louisiana's motor vehicle warranty (lemon) law covers new passenger and passenger-commercial vehicles bought for personal, family or household use, plus personal watercraft and all-terrain vehicles used only for personal purposes; it also covers lessees and people to whom the vehicle is transferred during the warranty. Vehicles of 10,000 GVW or more and vehicles used only for commercial purposes are excluded. The consumer must report the defect to the manufacturer or a dealer and make the vehicle available for repair before the warranty expires or within one year after original delivery, whichever is earlier. If, within that period, the same defect has been subject to repair four or more times without success, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 45 or more calendar days, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable new one or accept its return and refund the full purchase price, amounts paid at the point of sale, and sales tax, license and registration fees, minus a reasonable allowance for use (leases have their own refund rules). If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), the consumer must use it first. Suit must be filed within three years of purchase or one year after the warranty ends, whichever is longer, and a consumer who wins in whole or in part is entitled to reasonable attorney fees. |
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| Used cars | The lemon law applies to new vehicles. Under the Civil Code's general rules on sales, a seller warrants the buyer against redhibitory (hidden) defects: a defect that makes the thing useless or so inconvenient that the buyer would not have bought it lets the buyer seek to cancel the sale, and a defect that only reduces its usefulness or value lets the buyer seek a price reduction. The parties may agree to exclude or limit this warranty (an "as is" sale), but the exclusion must be clear and unambiguous and brought to the buyer's attention, and it does not protect a seller who declared that the thing had a quality the seller knew it did not have. These Civil Code articles apply to sales generally; no separate used-car lemon law was found. Source: La. Civil Code arts. 2520, 2548 |
| How to make a lemon law claim | 1) Notice: the consumer must report the defect to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers, and make the vehicle available for repair, before the warranty ends or within one year after original delivery, whichever is earlier. The statute does not spell out a separate written-notice requirement. 2) Final repair attempt: the statute says a manufacturer that fails to respond to the consumer or to perform repairs within the time periods in that subsection is considered to have waived its right to a final attempt to fix the defect, but the subsection does not itself set those time periods. 3) Arbitration: Louisiana has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that substantially complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), the refund/replacement remedy does not apply to a consumer who has not first used that program. After a program decision awarding a refund or replacement, the manufacturer has 30 days to provide it. 4) Deadline: the consumer has three years from the purchase date, or one year after the warranty period ends, whichever is longer, to sue the manufacturer to enforce the refund/replacement remedy. Final-repair waiver: https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=104205. Reporting rule: https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=104204. The statute does not mention a fee for the manufacturer's program. |
| Where to file a consumer complaint | Consumers can file a consumer dispute with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section using the online form, or by mailing or faxing the printable form with supporting documents. The office may refer the matter to another agency or forward the dispute and documents to the company; if the company responds, the office reviews the response and sends a copy to the consumer. The office says it cannot act as the consumer's attorney, a court or a legal advisor, and it does not handle disputes involving airlines, utilities, insurance claims, public officials or agencies, child support, employer-employee issues or licensed professionals. Questions can go to the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-351-4889. Mail: Consumer Protection Section, P.O. Box 94005, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9005; fax 225-326-6499. |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Louisiana State Bar Association's Find Legal Help portal does not describe a statewide LSBA referral line; its Find an Attorney directory can locate a local lawyer referral program for certain cities, and its Modest Means Directory lists attorneys who charge reduced fees to people who meet income requirements. LSBA phone: (800) 421-LSBA (5722) or (504) 566-1600. |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board's lawyer search lets you look up attorneys by name, city and status. Each result shows the date admitted, a status code (such as ELIG for eligible to practice, SUS suspended, DIS disbarred, INA inactive), public disciplinary actions with dates, and current administrative status. It does not show complaints, investigations or private discipline; full disciplinary history can be requested separately. Discipline history request: https://www.ladb.org/Account/DataRequest.aspx |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints about Louisiana lawyers must be in writing to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), using the Ethical Conduct Complaint Form or a letter describing what the lawyer did or failed to do, with the lawyer's contact details, dates and copies of documents. Mail to ODC, 4000 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Suite 607, Baton Rouge, LA 70816; phone (225) 293-3900 or (800) 326-8022. Anyone may file. ODC screens the complaint, may send it to the lawyer for a response (which you usually see), and may dismiss, issue a private admonition or file formal charges. You may appeal a dismissal in writing within 30 days. |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Louisiana's LSC-funded legal aid organizations, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, give free civil legal help to eligible low-income people. The LSBA also points people to the Louisiana Civil Legal Navigator (free legal information, court forms and legal aid referrals), LA.FreeLegalAnswers.org (online answers from volunteer attorneys for eligible adults), LouisianaLawHelp.org, and court self-help centers. LSBA page: https://www.lsba.org/goto/FindLegalHelp |
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All legal help in Louisiana · Background guide
Last verified against official sources: October 27, 2026.
How we source this page: each state-specific rule links to the statute, court rule or official government page it comes from. A rule taken from a public copy of a state code (used only where the official code is not freely readable online) is marked as a secondary source. Spot an error? Use the contact page to report it. About our sources
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.