Compensation lawsuits against Toyota, the world’s largest car manufacturer, related to what has become known as the Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) crisis, will be heard in a combined session at a court in California, a preliminary hearing has decided.
The compensation cases for the sudden acceleration claims will be consolidated in a federal court in Santa Ana, California, a panel of US judges said.
After hearing from dozens of plaintiffs’ attorneys last Friday, the US Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation announced it had selected the US District Court for the Central District of California to hear litigation surrounding Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA).
Lawsuits include both individual personal injury claims and consumer class actions filed on behalf of Toyota owners who claim the value of their vehicles has been negatively affected by Toyota’s SUA problems.
US legal firm Beasley Allen are involved in some of the compensation cases. Attorney W. Daniel Dee Miles, head of the firm’s consumer fraud section, revealed the firm has filed consumer class actions in four US states to date.
Beasley Allen attorney W. Daniel ‘Dee’ Miles, head of the firm’s consumer fraud section, has filed a total of five consumer class actions in four states to date – Alabama, California, Florida and Georgia. The firm also filed a wrongful death case involving Toyota SUA in state court in Alabama.
Mr Miles says he is not surprised by the panel’s decision:
“The MDL Panel’s decision to send these cases to Judge James V. Selna in the Federal Court for The Central District of California makes logical sense and is a good choice.
“That court has the most advanced set of cases in the country currently. Judge Selna is a proven jurist with vast experience in complex litigation and is the perfect Judge for this litigation.”
The Beasley Allen Law Firm is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. More information about their involvement can be found at their website: beasleyallen.com.
Nearly 200 lawsuits related to Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration have been filed in federal and state courts throughout the country. This decision will consolidate consumer and personal injury suits in one jurisdiction.
Toyota’s US headquarters is located in Torrance, California.
More than eight million Toyota vehicles have been recalled worldwide for Sudden Unintended Acceleration problems. Toyota has blamed the problems both on defective or improperly installed floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. Toyota also has recalled vehicles for problems with the anti-lock brakes.
Toyota after a slow start to the crisis has recently been pulling out the stops to improve its reputation and provide a better service to customers.
Also in California last week, Toyota Motor Sales announced it had established a new SMART business process utilizing existing product engineers, field technical specialists and specially trained technicians to quickly and aggressively investigate customer reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles in the United States.
The rapid-response Swift Market Analysis Response Team will attempt to contact customers within 24 hours of receiving a complaint of unintended acceleration to arrange for a comprehensive on-site vehicle analysis.
Members are drawn from a group of 200 technical associates located across Toyota’s North American operations and will work in close partnership with Toyota and Lexus dealers.
As part of the SMART program, dealerships will utilise structured business processes and materials to address owners’ concerns or reported experiences with unintended acceleration.
Toyota has provided dealers in the United States with the information they need to assist vehicle owners with concerns about unintended acceleration and to arrange a SMART evaluation. The information includes guidance on how to help owners, ranging from those with concerns about their vehicle to those who report experiencing unintended acceleration and were involved in an accident.
More information can be found at toyota.com.
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