Judge Says Toyota Suit Can Move Forward

An unintended acceleration-related lawsuit against Toyota has been given the OK by a U.S. District judge to continue, plaintiff attorneys said Monday.
A statement released Monday said that the ruling from Judge James Selna of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California indicated that there was enough evidence from the plaintiff attorneys to establish overpayment, meaning the case could continue.
Plaintiffs are alleging that Toyota was aware that the vehicle had the potential to accelerate unexpectedly. However, Toyota supposedly would not put in a brake-override or fail-safe system “in an effort to meet its profitability and production goals,” according to the statement from plaintiff attorneys.
“This matter is of critical importance to tens of millions of Toyota owners and we look forward to proving our case in court,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of the law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
Berman is also the co-lead council representing the economic loss class members.
“We believe — and intend to prove — that Toyota was aware of a defect, and chose not to take action to protect consumers,” he continued.
“Aside from the overall victory in allowing the case to move forward, Judge Selna agreed with many of our underlying arguments in the case, including our contention that Toyota owners who did not attempt to sell their vehicle could still bring a claim because they overpaid for their vehicles, buying cars that were not worth as much as a car free of these defects,” Berman added.
Meanwhile, Toyota provided Auto Remarketing with the following statement:
"Toyota is pleased that Judge Selna has invited the parties to seek consideration from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on key rulings that could have a significant impact on the case. The rulings at issue relate to which plaintiffs have properly presented claims under the U.S. Constitution and California statutes," the automaker said.
“Although Toyota is confident that no defect exists in its Electronic Throttle Control System, at this early stage of the litigation the Court is required to accept as true all of the factual allegations made by plaintiffs’ counsel in ruling on Toyota’s Motion to Dismiss. The burden is now squarely on plaintiffs’ counsel to prove their allegations, and Toyota is confident that no such proof exists," officials added.
“Plaintiffs’ counsel is still chasing a phantom theory of a defect in Toyota’s Electronic Throttle Control System that they remain wholly unable to identify. We look forward to the time when the science and engineering behind Toyota’s Electronic Throttle Control System are given a full and fair evaluation by the court. Toyota is confident that the evidence will confirm what millions of Toyota drivers prove every day: that they can depend upon their vehicles to provide safe, reliable transportation," they concluded.