Court: U.S. District Courts
Location: National
Ticker Symbol: TM
Hagens Berman filed class-action lawsuits against Toyota saying that consumers in Arizona and Washington have added a new demand in the ongoing struggle with Toyota concerning a long litany of safety complaints and issues: a refund. Toyota owners of recalled vehicles are encouraged to join the lawsuit.
Attorneys charge that the world's largest auto manufacturer produced vehicles so profoundly flawed with safety defects, and completely botched the recall process, that the only remedy is for owners to return the cars to Toyota (NYSE: TM).
Toyota owners say they have lost trust in the world's largest automobile manufacturer after the company attempted to explain away serious safety issues with a litany of excuses and offered Toyota owners repairs that may not correct the problems, the lawsuits state.
Also, recall repairs are also delayed by about three weeks and Toyota estimates it has completed only one million repairs worldwide. Six million cars, trucks and SUVs were recalled by Toyota in the U.S., which could take several months if not years to complete, published reports state. Safety concerns tied to unintended acceleration episodes of Toyota vehicles have been linked to more than 50 deaths in the United States, the law firm claims.
Other cases against Toyota would only provide consumers a small monetary award if successful. The suits, filed in U.S. District Court in three states by Hagens Berman, contends that purchasers should be able to revoke the acceptance of sales contracts based on the alleged breach of warranty among other claims of misdeed by the car manufacturer, and should be entitled to a full refund. The filings also ask the courts to order Toyota to stop selling the vehicles in question until the safety problems are corrected.
If approved by the courts, the class-action would include all Arizona and Washington residents who own a Toyota vehicle included on the recall list. The law firm expects to file in other states across the country.
Consumers are also facing problems when they try to sell Toyotas. Experts ranging from Kelley Blue Book to Edmunds indicate that the resale value of the vehicles involved in the safety recalls have plunged as much as six percent in the short time since the recalls began, the suits state.
Attorneys also indicate that the sales programs initiated by Toyota dealers to jump-start flaccid sales are also hurting consumers.
UPDATES:
Oct. 14 - Steve Berman, co-lead counsel for the economic class in the case, providing updates about the case as it progresses. You can find his new Toyota blog here.
May 16 – A Federal judge has rejected Toyota’s second motion to dismiss the case, allowing the case to move forward.“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 Hagens Berman and co-lead council representing the economic loss class members. “We believe – and intend to prove – that Toyota was aware of a possible defect, and chose not to take action to protect consumers.”
“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 said.
Feb. 15 - Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and co-lead counsel in the Toyota MDL, responds to Toyota's motion to dismiss filed on Feb. 14, 2011: "We think Toyota is taking some liberties with their motion by weaving in some extraordinarily selective excerpts from the executive summary of the recent NHTSA report. As Toyota’s attorneys well know, the court can take judicial notice of a regularly published government report, or undisputed facts from other reports. What Toyota has cited is neither.
It is like your son eager to show you his recent report card, touting the single A while his finger covers the C’s, D’s and F’s. It is almost comical if Toyota wasn’t foisting this ploy at the expense of consumer safety.
For example, while the executive summary agrees with the plaintiffs that a brake override is one cure for the defective cars, Toyota disagrees, saying that since SUA does not exist, that common-sense fix isn’t necessary. They can’t have it both ways.
We are confident that the court will see Toyota’s motion for what it is worth, and rule appropriately.
Feb. 8 - NASA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report today arguing that electronics played no role in SUA. Steve Berman's response can be found here.
Nov. 30 - A Federal judge largely rejected Toyota's efforts to dismiss the class-action lawsuit. U.S. District Judge James Selna ruled that the attorneys representing owners of Toyota vehicles demonstrated to the court that they have sufficient evidence to allow the case to move forward.
Oct. 27 – Hagens Berman, representing 52 consumer and commercial plaintiffs, filed a revised complaint that proposed new claims.
New allegations against Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) detailed in the revised complaint and a press release show that the company secretly purchased vehicles with sudden, unintended acceleration (SUA) defects from consumers and compelled owners to sign strict confidentiality agreements preventing them from discussing their experiences as part of the agreement.
The complaint also includes a copy of an internal Toyota document detailing the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 29 people in cases connected with SUA between March 1992 and January 2010.
Aug. 2 – Together with co-lead counsel in the Toyota litigation, Steve Berman, representing consumers and businesses, filed a revised complaint against the automaker in the U.S. District Court in California.The new complaint proposed new claims and presented new evidence including internal e-mails and documents that show Toyota knew several models needed a fail-safe brake override system to halt sudden unintended accelerations (SUA) years ago. A timeline of events, a fact sheet and two tables from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are available for download.
The consolidated complaint will represent consumers and businesses that bought or leased Toyota vehicles manufactured in the U.S. with an electronic throttle control system or ETCS.
May 14, 2010 - U.S. District Judge James V. Selna today appointed class-action lawyer Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, to co-lead counsel in the massive multi-district litigation against Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. (NYSE: TM).
Berman’s charge is to lead one of the largest consolidations of class-action cases in U.S. history, combining more than 300 state and federal suits concerning acceleration defects tainting Toyota vehicles. Berman and his co-lead counsel were selected from among more than 70 law firms applying for the role.
April 30, 2010 - Today, Hagens Berman filed a joint preliminary report with the U.S. District Court of Central California outlining the pending multi-district litigation against Toyota Motor Corp. The report provides a comprehensive case structure and proposed remedies for class actions related to economic losses as well as personal injuries resulting from Toyota's unintended acceleration issues.
April 14, 2010 - Judge James Selna appointed three plaintiff attorneys including Steve Berman, managing partner with Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro as co-lead counsel for the initial phase of the Toyota multidistrict litigation. Berman joins Elizabeth Cabraser with Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein and Marc Seltzer with Susman Godfrey. Together, the attorneys representing consumers impacted by Toyota's unintended acceleration issues will submit a preliminary report to the judicial panel by April 30, 2010, underlining key facts and legal charges against the automotive giant.
Berman, who leads the multi-state class-action lawsuits seeking a refund remedy for Toyota owners, responded to the Judge Selna's order by saying, "We are honored that the court selected our firm along with well-respected attorneys from Lieff Cabraser and Susman Godfrey to co-lead the first steps of the Toyota litigation. We understand that millions of Americans are looking to us to represent them in their claims against the world's largest auto maker, and we are up for the challenge. All three firms know one another, work well together and will be a potent force in representing the class' interests. This case offers some big challenges in finding out what Toyota knew, and when. We have some of the best lawyers in the country representing the class members, and I am confident we will find the truth.
The court has set a very aggressive timeline for this case to move forward, which we applaud. We look forward bringing our claims before the court."
March 29, 2010 - A refund-remedy for Toyota owners expands to New York, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania residents. The case is now pending in a total of twelve states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Washington which Berman filed earlier this month.
March 24, 2010 - Drivers of leased Toyotas plagued by safety concerns today joined the chorus of those who want to rid themselves of the vehicles by demanding the manufacturer allow them to cancel their leases and return the vehicles.
March 23, 2010 - Toyota owners in Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Illinois join the class action against the automotive giant. Hagens Berman expect to file in other states this week.
March 17, 2010 - A refund remedy for Toyota owners gains steam as class-action lawsuits now expand to five states. The class actions would protect all Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland and Washington residents who own a Toyota vehicle included on the recall lists, if courts approve the case. The firm also expects to file in several other states including Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Oregon as early as next week.
Key Attorneys
Mr. Berman co-founded the firm in 1993, and is the managing partner. He is considered one of the most su... link >>
Ms. Byszewski is a partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro where she has worked since 2004. Her practice ... link >>
Mr. Carey handles class-action lawsuits against a variety of organizations and companies - including the NC... link >>
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