› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance is suing Toyota Motor Sales in an effort to recoup a claim it paid to a policyholder whose 2007 Camry suddenly accelerated as she was attempting to park. The insurance company alleges that Toyota installed a faulty accelerator pedal in the plaintiff’s car, causing it to surge forward and collide with a building, causing several thousands of dollars in damage.
The family of a Marine who served two tours of combat duty in Iraq only to be killed in Knoxville, Tennessee, when his Toyota Yaris suddenly sped out of control, is suing the carmaker. The new lawsuit is one of the latest cases to join the multi-district litigation involving sudden, unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus cars, which have been consolidated in a Santa Ana, California, federal court under Judge James Selna.
Safety Research & Strategies Inc. (SRS), the Massachusetts auto safety firm that has been instrumental in holding Toyota accountable for defects related to sudden unintended acceleration in its vehicles, is suing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for withholding records that could provide critical insight into the sudden-acceleration problem.
Toyota Motor Corp. announced it is recalling 420,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the United States and an additional 130,000 globally over a flaw that could result in difficulty steering if not corrected.
U.S. District Judge James Selna, who is presiding over multi-district litigation involving sudden-acceleration claims against Toyota, has set three trials to go forward in 2013, including the Utah lawsuit that he previously dismissed over a technicality.
The rising value of the Yen is putting pressure on Toyota to cut back on costs in order to remain competitive in the global market, where most currencies are far weaker than Japan’s. The appreciating Yen has been putting a chokehold on Toyota and other Japanese exporters as they struggle to recoup from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of Japan’s eastern coast, creating widespread power shortages and disruptions in the industrial supply chain.
Toyota has fallen, but it might take years for it to get back up. According to Forbes, the Japanese auto giant’s share of the U.S. market has slid from 17 percent for all of 2009 to 11.5 percent in September. Making matters worse for the company is the fact that its sales were eclipsed last month by Chrysler Group LLC, an automaker that almost ceased to exist a couple of years ago and one which historically has always trailed far behind Toyota.
The federal judge overseeing lawsuits filed in federal courts against Toyota for sudden unintended acceleration damages has dismissed the lawsuit previously selected as the first bellwether case, saying it belonged in a Utah State court.
The federal judge presiding over multi-district litigation (MDL) involving sudden-acceleration claims against Toyota said Monday he may reject the auto maker’s motion seeking to toss the first of hundreds of lawsuits.
An independent study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) demonstrates that, contrary to NASA’s conclusions, an electronic cause for the sudden unintended acceleration problem in Toyota vehicles is not just probable, but highly likely.
