Woman Says She Won Mileage Case against Honda

A car owner who sued Honda Motor Co. over allegations the automaker overstated gas mileage for her 2006 Civic Hybrid said she won $9,867 in small claims court in Los Angeles, Bloomberg News reported.

“I am absolutely thrilled at the reports that I won, even though I won’t see the actual judgment until it comes in the mail,” Heather Peters said Thursday in an e-mailed statement. “It’s a victory for Civic Hybrid owners everywhere!” The award couldn’t be immediately confirmed in court records.

Peters, who is a lawyer, opted out of a proposed class action settlement over claims the Civic Hybrid doesn’t get 50 miles per gallon as the carmaker says and filed her own case in small claims court, where plaintiffs and defendants represent themselves.

The class-action settlement offered as little as $100 in cash and a $500 coupon toward a new car, Peters said before a Jan. 25 hearing.

Honda has not yet commented on the case.