Vince Megna (born August 24, 1944, Iron Mountain, Michigan) is a Wisconsin attorney "known as the leading lemon law attorney in the United States."[1] Lemon Law is the body of law that offers protection to owners of motor vehicles with recurring mechanical or other problems that are not resolved within a reasonable time by the dealer or manufacturer.
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Referred to by The Washington Post as the "King of Lemon Laws" and "Arguably America's foremost lemon law lawyer",[2] Megna is a graduate of Marquette University Law School, 1973. He has successfully represented consumers in more than 1,500 Lemon Law cases,[3] won some of the biggest jury verdicts and lemon law settlements in the nation and has argued before both the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. In 2003, Lawyers Weekly USA selected Megna one of the ten "Lawyers of the Year"[4] for his work in consumer advocacy. In 2006, Megna prevailed in one of the largest Lemon Law verdicts in the nation, a $385,000 judgment against DaimlerChrysler Corporation over a defective Dodge Viper.[5] In 2010, in a case that received world wide media coverage, Megna obtained a $482,000 judgment against Mercedes-Benz for a $56,000 E class that wouldn't start.[6] Vince Megna has sued General Motors some 650 times without a loss.[7]
In 2003, Megna released Bring on Goliath: Lemon Law Justice in America (Ken Press, Tucson, AZ). Ed Henry, retired Automotive Editor for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, critiqued the work as, exposing "a greedy grab for profits at the expense of consumers like none I have read in more than 20 years of automotive reporting".[8] Warren Brown of The Washington Post called Bring on Goliath, "simply the best book I have ever read on consumer justice in the matter of gaining compensation for cars that just don't work." [9] Academy Award winner and author Michael Moore gave Bring on Goliath a "thumbs up."[10] The book inspired efforts in Hawaii to change its lemon law (HI HB 1753) into a more consumer friendly law identical to that of Wisconsin. The bill was strenuously opposed by the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association.
In 2006, the satirical and irreverent rant on society, religion, truth and the legal profession was published in Vince Megna's second book Lap Dancers Don’t Take Checks: The Truth about Law, Lawyers and other Trivialities (Ken Press). Johnny Dark, the Oldest CBS Page from the David Letterman Show, wrote the Forward.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Megna sustained a modest musical career playing guitar with well known performers including Teddy Randazzo ("Goin' Out Of My Head" and “Hurt So Bad”), Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and jazz guitar great Herb Ellis. He also performed in bands with Moby Grape founding member Peter Lewis, American icon blues bassist Larry Taylor and John Walker of the The Walker Brothers. His work in music continued after joining the bar, including recordings with his own band, Vince and the Attorneys. In 2000, Megna released Truth is Irrelevant, a 10 song satirical, alternative rock CD produced by Genesis and Phil Collins’ guitarist, Daryl Stuermer.[11]