North Carolina Lemon Law Blog

Toyota Faces First Day in Court

march 31, 2010 11:19am

Toyota Motor Corp. and plaintiffs' lawyers handling personal injury
and consumer lawsuits related to sudden, unintended acceleration met
in a San Diego courthouse yesterday.

Many of the 23 lawyers speaking at the hearing said the lawsuits
should be consolidated before one judge. Toyota's attorney Cari Dawson
agreed, indicating that the central district of California, which
includes Los Angeles, near Toyota's U.S. sales headquarters in
Torrance, is the best location for the litigation "because the first
case was filed there and there are several other cases that are
procedurally advanced there."

The five-judge panel didn't issue a decision but said it would
consider the arguments and then seek a judge who has the
qualifications and the time to handle these cases should they choose
to consolidate them.

To date Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles for fixes
related to sudden acceleration. At least 148 class action lawsuits
have been filed against the automaker by consumers and shareholders
since November. These suits alleged that the company withheld
information about the risk of sudden acceleration, driving down
vehicle value or inflating the company's shares.

At least 48 lawsuits claiming injuries or deaths caused by sudden
acceleration have also been filed in federal and state courts, and
reports from plaintiffs' lawyers indicate plans to file dozens more.
Most of the lawyers are seeking to have the lawsuits combined in a
multidistrict litigation, or MDL, disagreeing over exactly which
court, although many at yesterday's hearing supported the Los
Angeles-based federal court.

"To have the lawyers do the same work twice would be a waste of time
and resources," said New York lawyer Hunter Shkolnik.

Other lawyers disagree, arguing that the panel should assign the
lawsuits to multiple judges, that the issues are too complex for one
judge in one court to take on.

"We're going to have a massive fight over hidden documents," said
Attorney Daniel Becnel, Jr. of Louisiana. A system should be
established to handle this "incredibly complex litigation," claimed
Becnel, who has filed multiple class actions against Toyota himself.

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Questions about the Toyota recall or the North Carolina lemon law?
Contact the Law Offices of Sean Soboleski. The NC lemon law was set
into motion to protect you - the consumer. Use this website or call
our office to find out how you might be affected by the lemon law,
North Carolina resident.

Information Source:
http://www.businessweek.com

Posted By: admin