ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) — Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens has announced Southtowne Motors of Newnan Inc., doing business as Southtowne Chevrolet Buick GMC, Southtowne Motors, Inc., doing business as Southtowne Hyundai Riverdale, and Southtowne Motors of Newnan II Inc., doing business as Southtowne Hyundai of Newnan (together “Southtowne”) entered Assurances of Voluntary Compliance after allegations of improper disclosure practices.
Southtowne purportedly failed to provide consumers the mandatory Georgia Lemon Law form that discloses vehicle buyback status. Georgia requires the usage of this form to make sure consumers know a lemon buyback’s history. The law states consumers be given an opportunity to fully read the form before they buy the vehicle.
“Georgia’s Lemon Law is designed to protect consumers from ‘small print fatigue’ by ensuring that they are fully aware of the buyback status of their vehicle and the protections they have under the law,” Olens said. “Today’s settlements send a strong message that the State will not tolerate disregard for Georgia’s Lemon Law or deception on the part of a dealership.”
Southtowne Hyundai of Newnan will pay $80,000, the majority of the penalties, because it sells the most of the group’s lemon buybacks. The two other dealers will each pay $7,500.