Report: Federal panel to weigh consolidation and location of Toyota lawsuits

There have been more than 80 lawsuits filed against Toyota in America alone since the Japanese company's Dark Days began. A group of attorneys, representing personal and commercial clients for claims ranging from death to loss of resale value, will argue before a federal panel to have the suits consolidated into less than four score.
If they are granted that action, Automotive News is reporting that a panel will also need to decide where the cases should be heard. Toyota would like the gladiatorial jurisprudence to be set in California, while at least one attorney has also mentioned Kentucky (where Toyota has a factory that is among the defendants) and Louisiana as potential locales.

Fifteen jurisdictions are being considered, though, and the panel will settle the matter based on factors including convenience to the plaintiffs and defendants, and the expertise a jurist might have in such cases. A decision is expected in a few weeks on those matters. A decision on where Toyota emerges after all dust has cleared remains a long, long, long way off.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Share This Photo X