WCPA Damages in Washington Lemon Law Cases

The Washington Consumer Protection Act (WCPA) under Wash. Rev. Code § 19.86 provides parallel and amplified damages compared to the Lemon Law alone — including treble damages capped at $25,000 per violation under RCW 19.86.090 and mandatory attorney fees on prevailing.

What WCPA adds beyond the Lemon Law

Element	Lemon Law alone	Lemon Law + WCPA
Refund or replacement	Yes	Yes
Discretionary § 19.118.150 fees	Yes (if groundless/bad-faith)	Yes
Actual damages	No	Yes (RCW 19.86.090)
Treble damages	No	Yes — capped at $25K per violation
Mandatory attorney fees	No (only discretionary)	Yes (RCW 19.86.090)
Court access required	Optional (AG arb possible)	Required (no WCPA in arbitration)

Actual damages under WCPA

For a vehicle warranty case, WCPA actual damages typically include:

• Diminished market value of the vehicle from the defect.
• Cost of repairs the manufacturer should have covered.
• Rental car expenses during repair attempts.
• Lost wages for time spent on repair issues.
• Towing and incidental costs.

Typical actual-damages range: $2,000-$15,000 per case.

Treble damages — capped at $25,000 per violation

RCW 19.86.090 provides:

[The court] may, in its discretion, increase the award of damages… by an amount not to exceed three times the actual damages sustained: PROVIDED, that such increased damage award… shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars.

Three structural points:

1. Discretionary (“may, in its discretion”) — Washington courts must find the trebling is appropriate, typically based on intent / knowledge.
2. Per-violation cap of $25,000 — each individual violation is capped, but multiple violations can be plead.
3. No statutory willfulness requirement in the text — but Washington courts require a showing of intent / knowledge sufficient to support discretionary trebling.

Aggregation across multiple violations

Per-violation cap means strategic pleading can push WCPA exposure above $25K:

• One violation per misrepresentation event.
• One violation per warranty-claim denial.
• One violation per failed repair attempt with deceptive customer-relations response.
• One violation per recall-concealment event.

Practical aggregations of 2-4 violations are common in Washington lemon-law / WCPA cases, pushing total treble exposure to $50K-$100K.

The Hangman Ridge five-element requirement

WCPA requires the five-element Hangman Ridge test:

1. Unfair or deceptive act.
2. In trade or commerce.
3. Public interest impact — unique to Washington.
4. Injury to consumer.
5. Causation.

The public-interest prong is the key vulnerability. In lemon-law cases, it’s typically satisfied by:

• TSB / recall evidence (class of vehicles affected).
• Multi-state lawsuits against the manufacturer.
• Pattern of denials across many consumers.
• Manufacturer’s systemic practice.

Single-vehicle, isolated defects without class pattern may fail the public-interest prong.

Mandatory attorney fees under RCW 19.86.090

The same provision mandates fees on prevailing:

In addition, the court shall award to such person the costs of the suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.

This is mandatory language (“shall award”) — the load-bearing fee engine in Washington lemon-law cases.

What “willfulness” / intent means for trebling

Washington courts evaluate intent / knowledge sufficient to support discretionary trebling on:

• TSB documentation known to manufacturer.
• Internal warranty / customer-relations records.
• Pattern responses ignoring known defects.
• Misrepresentations to specific consumer.
• Recall delays or concealment.

How WCPA changes Washington case economics

A standalone Lemon Law refund typically produces:

• Refund of ~$40,000.
• Discretionary § 19.118.150 fees only if defense was groundless / not in good faith.

Adding WCPA:

• Refund of ~$40,000.
• WCPA actual damages: $5,000-$10,000.
• Trebling: up to $25,000 per violation (typically $15,000-$50,000 across aggregated violations).
• Mandatory RCW 19.86.090 fees: $25,000-$60,000+.

The WCPA addition can roughly double total case value for cases with strong public-interest impact and willfulness.

What WCPA does NOT provide

• No emotional-distress damages — WCPA is property/economic damages only.
• No punitive damages beyond the trebling cap.
• No availability in AG arbitration — court only.

Bottom line

WCPA is the load-bearing damages and fee engine in most Washington lemon-law cases. The treble damages cap of $25,000 per violation is narrower than NC UDTPA or NJ CFA uncapped trebling, but aggregable violations plus the unique Hangman Ridge five-element framework (including the public-interest prong) create strong outcomes for cases with class-level defect patterns. The mandatory RCW 19.86.090 fee provision makes court representation attractive for any case with meaningful WCPA exposure.

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