Chrysler Appeals 45-Day State License Suspension

SACRAMENTO —  Chrysler Corp. has appealed a decision to suspend its state business license. The move delays indefinitely sanctions that would bar the company from shipping vehicles to California for 45 days.

The Department of Motor Vehicles last month suspended Chrysler’s California business license for 45 days as punishment for selling 116 “lemons” without warning potential buyers.

The department also prohibited Chrysler from reselling lemons it buys back from unhappy customers and put the company on probation, both for three years.

The sanctions were scheduled to take effect Monday. However, Chrysler filed an appeal late Friday, blocking the action for at least several months, said Sam Jennings, chief administrative law judge for the New Motor Vehicle Board.

In its appeal, Chrysler called the DMV penalty “draconian” and “grossly excessive.” It said the lemon law at the time of the violations was “vague and ambiguous and ultimately repealed and rewritten.”

The DMV cited 116 violations of California’s “lemon law,” a decade-old statute intended to protect consumers from clunkers. Under state law, a lemon is a personal, family or household car that needs four or more major repairs or is inoperable for at least 30 days during the first year or 12,000 miles. Companies must disclose the vehicles’ status if they are resold, and “brand” the titles.

The DMV said Chrysler’s violations included failure to notify used car buyers that the vehicles had been labeled lemons, failure to provide warranties and failure to notify the DMV so that the titles could be branded.