Documenting Evidence for a Delaware Lemon Law Claim

Documentation wins Delaware lemon-law cases. Because the presumption turns on a clean 4-attempt or 30-calendar-day record within a short one-year window — and because the Consumer Fraud Act can treble your damages — contemporaneous records are decisive.

The core record: repair orders

For every dealer visit, keep the written repair order showing:

• Date in and date out — for the 30-calendar-day out-of-service count.
• Your written description of the nonconformity — the count begins when you present the vehicle with a written description (§ 5004(a)).
• The diagnosis and work performed (or “no problem found”).
• Mileage at each visit — note the mileage when you first reported the nonconformity (it drives the use offset).

Request a printed copy at every visit. “No problem found” visits count if you reported the defect.

Count calendar days — the 30-day trigger

Delaware counts calendar days (not business days) for the out-of-service threshold (more than 30), running from the first day you present the vehicle with a written nonconformity description. The count extends only for force majeure (war, strike, fire, flood, natural disaster). Track every day the vehicle sits at the shop.

Preserve the written notice

Keep a copy of your prior direct written notice to the manufacturer and proof of delivery (§ 5004(b)) — the presumption doesn’t apply without it.

Capture the first-report mileage

Because Delaware’s use offset counts miles driven before you first reported the nonconformity (over a 100,000-mile denominator), the odometer reading at your first report is a key number. Note it precisely.

Track the same-nonconformity count

Visit	Date in	Date out	Calendar days OOS	Mileage	Nonconformity reported	Outcome

Evidence for the Consumer Fraud Act

For a Consumer Fraud Act claim (mandatory treble), preserve:

• TSBs and recall notices matching your defect.
• Sales/marketing representations.
• Misrepresentation or nondisclosure evidence (prior damage, title, odometer).
• Evidence of willfulness — relevant to the discretionary fee award.

Bottom line

In Delaware, the presumption turns on a clean 4-attempt or 30-calendar-day record within a short one-year window — and the first-report odometer reading drives the offset. Preserve written notice and the repair orders, and build the Consumer Fraud Act record for the treble. Get a free case review.

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