Personal Injury Law

Toytota moves to dismiss hundreds of Suddn-Acceleration lawsuits

By LaBovick Law

Toyota Motor Corp. urged a U.S. judge to dismiss mass consumer lawsuits over sudden-acceleration claims relating to its vehicles. The company accuses plaintiffs' attorneys of using anecdotal evidence and failing to identify specific defects in its vehicles.

Sudden acceleration prompted the world's largest automaker to recall more than 8.5 million vehicles worldwide, and resulted in an onslaught of lawsuits against the company. Some 300 federal lawsuits, filed mainly by Toyota owners disgruntled with the devaluation of their vehicles following the recalls, have been consolidated and assigned to U.S. District Judge James V. Selna.

Toyota officials continue to attribute the unintended acceleration incidents to sticky accelerator pedals and floor mats. Plaintiffs' attorneys, however, are suggesting that the automaker's electronic throttle-control systems are the source of the sudden acceleration occurrences.

The plaintiffs' attorneys alleged in a mass economic loss complaint filed in August that the car-maker knew six years ago that its electronic throttle-control equipped vehicles had a high complaint rate, yet chose to ignore these warnings and failed to take precautionary safety measures such as installing a brake-override system in the vehicles.

Toyota's attorneys continue to defend the company's vehicles, citing that no evidence of flaws related to its electronic-throttle control systems exist, thereby ruling out the possibility of connection between electronic equipment and unintended acceleration.

A filing released by Toyota stated the following about the situation:

"Absent from plaintiffs' complaints are any identification or description of any alleged defect in the (electronic throttle-control system). Unless and until plaintiffs can provide factual allegations of a specific defect in the (electronic throttle-control system) that cause the subject vehicle to experience a sudden unintended acceleration event, plaintiffs' product and liability claims should be dismissed.'

There is a hearing scheduled for Nov. 19 on the motion to dismiss the sudden-acceleration lawsuits.

Toyota Asks U.S. Judge to Dismiss `Unsubstantiated' Acceleration Lawsuits – Bloomberg

Toyota seeks sudden-acceleration lawsuits tossed – MSNBC.com

Opinions and Orders In Re Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, 8:10-ml-02151, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Santa Ana) Court Orders

Full post as published by LaBovick Injury Law Blog on September 15, 2010 (boomark / email).