I received this from some lawyers involved in the litigation over the actual vs. advertised mileage of the Honda Civic hybrid and thought you guys might be interested: 
Class counsel in the various related actions concerning claims related to the 2003-2009 Honda Civic Hybrid have read and watched with interest the various stories concerning Heather Peters’ pursuit of a small claims case against Honda in California. While we respect the right of Ms. Peters based on her legal experience to make an individual decision to opt out of the proposed class action settlement and pursue her individual claims (a right provided to class members in virtually every settlement), the coverage concerning the settlement has consistently omitted important details about the terms of the settlement that are contained in the approximately 500,000 class notices recently sent out to class members. If you choose to write anything further about the case, details about the settlement, including the Court’s ruling preliminarily approving the settlement can be located at www.hchsettlement.com and the full notice of the settlement is linked here (http://www.hchsettlement.com/Notice.aspx). Below are several key facts concerning the settlement that have not been identified:
· Class members who own 2006-2008 Honda Civic Hybrids (like Ms. Peters) that choose to remain in the settlement (unlike Ms. Peters) are eligible to receive cash benefits from the settlement and still elect an alternative dispute resolution program that, unlike small claims court, has no recovery limitation;
· Most class members are eligible for an automatic 12 month or 12,000 mile warranty extension on the hybrid battery that is retroactive;
· In addition to claiming (depending upon model year) $100 or $200 in cash, class members are also eligible for:
* Up to $1,000 in fully transferable (meaning they can either be used or sold for cash) rebate certificates for the purchase of any new Honda or Acura vehicle during a specified time period;
* Up to $1,500 in rebate certificates that the class member can redeem for his or her own purchase of a new Honda or Acura vehicle during a specified time period;
· Ms. Peters wrote to counsel regarding this settlement on November 18, 2011, and stated “…I must say, you guys negotiated one of the best class action settlements I have ever seen….”; and
· In granting preliminary approval the Judge calculated the potential value of the settlement at well over $200 million just for the approximately 200,000 original purchasers, which does not include as many as 300,000 subsequent purchasers that are also eligible to make claims.
Should you have any questions or require any additional information feel free to call or email.
With best regards,
CUNEO GILBERT & LADUCA, LLP
Jonathan W. Cuneo
jonc@cuneolaw.com
William H. Anderson
wanderson@cuneolaw.com
Telephone: (202) 789-3960
CHIMICLES & TIKELLIS LLP
Nicholas E. Chimicles
nick@chimicles.com
Alison G. Gushue
arg@chimicles.com
Telephone: (610) 642-8500
