Toyota faces class-action lawsuits
Problems are piling up for the troubled carmaker. More lawsuits are in horizon asthe automaker faces an increasing number of consumer class-action cases – more than 40 so far – over the lower resale value of a Toyota. This is in addition to personal injury lawsuits stemming from Toyota’s global car recall.
Consumer lawsuits seeking economic damages for diminished value or lost use of a recalled Toyota vehicle have been filed in at least 30 states, mostly in federal court. Toyota face potential loss of over $2 billion, Tim Howard, lead counsel for a team of law firms handling about half the cases, estimated.
Howard said, all the federal suits would be consolidated into a single class action in the next 3-4 months, following a hearing before a panel of judges set for March 25 in U.S. District Court in San Diego.
Litigation against the Japanese automaker has mounted in the weeks since it began the biggest recall in its history for repairs to ill-fitting floor mats and sticking gas pedals. These problems have been blamed for instances of sudden acceleration in its vehicles.
This week also saw an announcement for recall for braking flaws reported in Toyota’s top-selling hybrid car, the Prius, and U.S. regulators say they are reviewing dozens of complaints of potential steering problems in new Toyota Corollas.
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