Judge won’t dismiss suits against Toyota

November 20, 2010|Associated Press

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California said yesterday he will not dismiss lawsuits against Toyota from car owners who claim sudden-acceleration defects caused the value of the vehicles to plummet.

US District Judge James Selna said in a 63-page ruling that he believes suits filed by car owners who say the value of their vehicles plummeted after a series of recalls by the Japanese automaker can move forward. Selna said he will issue a final ruling within a week. A hearing over a similar motion to dismiss lawsuits that seek compensation for injury and death due to sudden acceleration will be held in front of Selna on Dec. 9.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed since the automaker starting recalling millions of vehicles because of acceleration problems in several models and brake defects with the Prius hybrid. Toyota maintains the plaintiffs have been unable to prove that a design defect — its electronic throttle control system — is responsible for vehicles surging unexpectedly. It has blamed driver error, faulty floor mats, and sticky accelerator pedals.

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