5. Appeal of arbitration decision. An appeal by a manufacturer or the consumer of the arbitrator's arbitration panel's findings may not be heard unless the petition for appeal is filed with the Superior Court of the county in which the sale occurred, within 21 days of issuance of the finding of the state-certified arbitration. The appeal must be a trial de novo. The arbitrator and the Department of the Attorney General may not be parties in any such appeal and may not be called as witnesses. The Department of the Attorney General may submit an amicus curiae brief.

In the event that any state-certified arbitration resulting in an award of a refund or replacement is upheld by the court, recovery by the consumer may include continuing damages up to the amount of $25 per day for each day subsequent to the day the motor vehicle was returned to the manufacturer, pursuant to section 1163, that the vehicle was out of use as a direct result of any nonconformity not issuing from owner negligence, accident, vandalism or any attempt to repair or substantially modify the vehicle by a person other than the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer, provided that the manufacturer did not make a comparable vehicle available to the consumer free of charge.

In addition to any other recovery, any prevailing consumer must be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs. If the court finds that the manufacturer did not have any reasonable basis for its appeal or that the appeal was frivolous, the court shall double the amount of the total award to the consumer.