Meet Joshua T. Kaleel
Joshua T. Kaleel is a warranty claims and Lemon Law attorney in the Farah and Farah Jacksonville office. Fighting for the consumer when a business sells them a defective product is what a consumer protection attorney does best. An establishment may drag its feet or say there is nothing it can do, but Joshua Kaleel knows how to leverage the law to get his clients the justice they deserve. Joshua started in the law early, at just 17, where he was a “runner” for a local firm. After law school, Joshua would defend big car companies like Ford, Volkswagen, and Mitsubishi from breach of warranty claims. Eventually coming to the “other side,” Joshua founded his own practice and went to work for the consumer, handling cases like breach of warranty claims, Lemon Law claims, foreclosure defense, unfair debt collection, and civil appeals.
All of this would lead to Chuck and Eddie Farah reaching out directly to have Joshua come on board to manage our consumer law team. From pre-suit through litigation, Joshua holds direct hands-on experience and expert-level knowledge in this area of law. Combine that with his proven track record of wins, and you’ve learned why Joshua Kaleel is precisely the type of attorney you want handling your case.
Fighting for the “Average Joe”
To me, consumer law is an exciting area of law. I like helping people because of what I grew up seeing my dad do here in town. Dad owned a service station; I can remember working there after school, during the summer, even in college. I saw firsthand what my dad went through running a small business. Everything he did was on a handshake. I’d ask why he didn’t make contracts or collect on folks who didn’t pay. My dad showed me what integrity was when he said everyone fell on hard times and believed each one would pay eventually.
When I worked in my own private practice for five years, I learned a lot about owning and running a business too. But I also saw my dad, the tough, working man he was, in many of my clients. People would say no one would take their case because it wasn’t a lot of money, but it was a lot of money to them. I saw my dad in those clients. It may not seem like a lot to someone else, but my client worked hard for their money and deserved compensation when a product or service wasn’t as promised.
The average family has to scrimp and save for a vehicle. When you finally drive off the lot, there is a certain assurance that the car will work properly. If you have an issue and the business fails to stand behind its product or service, that’s where I come in as a Lemon Law and breach of warranty attorney in Jacksonville.
I Get Revved Up When a Business Thinks They Can Run Roughshod Over People
If you’ve ever had a product have issues and tried to go through the warranty process, you know how tough it can be. Warranty departments deny claims, delay, or provide shoddy workmanship that doesn’t come close to making people whole again. That’s not okay with me. When people have paid the kind of money they have for things and promised that the business would fix it for “so and so miles/years,” but then they say, “we’ll get to it when we get to it,” it makes my blood boil and gets me out of bed in the morning to start swinging for the fences against these corporate giants.
Big businesses think they can run over people because they will get scared or back down and won’t hire an attorney. I live for that opportunity to give my client equal footing against the corporate giants. My team and I do that every day, and it’s absolutely something I love about this area of the law.
A Case I’ll Never Forget
A case that genuinely stands out as one of the most rewarding I’ve ever had the pleasure of working on involved an elderly lady. She’d recently lost her husband and decided to buy a camper to live with her little dog in a nice RV community. She purchased a pricier unit and even added a few improvements to help her get around inside. Just like anyone would, she figured the unit would be nice and new and function properly. When she had a few issues, she attempted to go through the warranty process from the RV’s manufacturer. Well, that work didn’t happen.
After getting to her wit’s end with the runaround, she called us and signed on to let me represent her. I reviewed all the facts of the case and sent a demand letter to the manufacturer for everything we expected them to replace under the terms of the warranty agreement. The manufacturer did respond with a settlement offer, but it was nowhere near fair enough to make my client whole. The manufacturer balked and ignored me when I outlined all the specific costs. So I got creative.
I went online and found a whole host of higher-ups within the organization. I sent this entire group an ultimatum to hear this case for a sweet older lady who needed a new unit, or we would be filing suit. The very next day, I got a call back from their attorney. When he asked for proof, my team and I were ready with every fact and figure required to prove my client’s case. Finally, the opposing attorney said he understood and resolved the situation. One of the best calls of my career was calling my client to tell her we’d be getting her unit replaced. She was so grateful and told me I was more than an attorney; I was a friend, someone looking out for her. She said no one had ever stood up for her like that. It was an amazing feeling. Those heartfelt words were better than any fee. I like to think I’m making my dad proud in moments like these.
Outside of the Office, This Is Where You’ll Likely Find Me
On those rare occasions when I am not in the office or working, you will most likely find me hanging out with my beautiful wife, Sarah, and our two lovable dogs, Sgt. Pepper and Maxwell Silver. True story, my wife and I are in a rock n’ roll band, where I play the drums. If I’m not playing with the dogs or rocking out, I’ll probably just be hanging out over a game of pool.
