By Paul A. Eisenstein, msnbc.com contributor

Honda is bracing for a possible flood of legal challenges if the California courts uphold a recent verdict awarding nearly $10,000 to a woman who claimed her 2006 Civic Hybrid delivered significantly lower fuel economy than the maker had promised.

Heather Peters is by no means the only Honda owner upset by the gap between the mileage on the Civic’s window sticker and what the car actually delivered in use. But she decided to take a very different approach to other owners, many of whose legal claims have been consolidated into a class action now before a court in San Diego.

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Prior to her trial, the Civic Hybrid owner lamented that while her car was rated at 50 miles per gallon, “they didn't say if you run your air conditioning and you remain in stop-and-go traffic, you're going to get 29 to 30 miles per gallon.”

In court, a Honda representative, technical specialist Neil Schmidt, insisted it wasn’t the company’s fault. He argued that Honda simply posted the numbers set by the EPA, which conducts government fuel economy testing.

“We have no choice,” testified Schmidt. “We have to put those numbers on the label.”

The EPA only limits manufacturers like Honda at the high end. They cannot post a number on the car’s so-called Munroney sticker higher than what was achieved in the government’s tests. But a maker like Honda can post a lower number if it chooses to do so. Facing competitors likely to maximize their own numbers, few if any carmakers have ever gone with anything other than the EPA posting. That's in part, noted Dave Sullivan, an analyst with AutoPacific, Inc., because it was generally thought that using the federal figures provided legal cover.

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But a company source said the maker is clearly worried about the potential precedent that could be set if the Peters judgment is allowed to stand. It raises the possibility that hundreds of Civic Hybrid owners could see little to gain from the class-action settlement and more opportunity in taking their own claims into the local small claims courtroom.

The industry is watching closely too, said a Ford executive, asking not to be identified by name. While automakers routinely lament the legal climate they often prefer a class action to countless local suits. And small claims actions place a severe limit on their legal power which is normally a potent tool in overcoming consumer complaints.

Read more here: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/07/10342080-honda-civic-mileage-verdict-has-industry-sweating

I don't know if it is just me, but in my way of understanding mileage as posted by car manufacturers, the high end number is the highway mileage, not what you get driving in traffic and definitely not what you get with your ac running (which is why I almost never use it), but what you get cruising along with nothing impeding the forward motion of your car. As a matter of fact, two mileages are posted, one for city driving and one for highway, so I don't see where this lady had a case.... but we live in the age of litigation, so who knows. Another thing - if I got 30 miles per gallon in traffic, I'd be deliriously happy.

Here's more info:

Honda loses Small Claims Court suit over Civic hybrid fuel economy

The owner of a Honda Civic hybrid won an unusual Small Claims Court lawsuit Wednesday against the auto giant that some legal experts believe could change strategies for both Small Claims Court and class-action litigation.

A Los Angeles County court commissioner ruled that American Honda Motor Co. negligently misled Civic owner Heather Peters when it claimed the hybrid could achieve as much as 50 miles per gallon.

Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan, who mailed his 26-page decision to Peters and Honda, awarded her $9,867.19 in damages. That is close to the maximum $10,000 allowed in Small Claims Court that the Los Angeles resident was seeking. The Times obtained a copy of the decision.

"It is a victory for Civic Hybrid owners and consumers everywhere," said Peters, a former lawyer. "Sometimes big justice comes in small packages."

Her award was far greater than the damages she would have collected had she signed onto a class-action-lawsuit settlement over similar claims against Honda.

Peters sued Honda after learning that the proposed settlement covering her 2006 vehicle would pay trial lawyers $8.5 million while Civic hybrid owners would get as little as $100 and rebate coupons for the purchase of a new car.

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Peters argued that Honda advertised that the car would get about 50 mpg, but "the car never got more than 41 or 42 even on its very best day." She said the fuel economy dropped below 30 mpg after a software update intended to prolong the life of the car's battery and improve performance was installed.

She decided to file the case in Small Claims Court to prevent Honda from bringing a highly paid legal team to the battle. California law — and statutes in some other states — prohibits companies from using lawyers to mount a defense in Small Claims Court.

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Honda has acknowledged that the battery on the 2006 through 2008 Civic hybrids "may deteriorate and eventually fail" earlier than expected. When the battery pack can't be charged to full capacity, the car relies more on the gas engine and fuel economy suffers.

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Read more here: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-autos-honda-lawsuit-20120202,0,845180.story

Aha, thanks BLue for the additional article; it adds key information in understanding the case.