Toyota Vehicle Problems
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.
Information source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-25/toyota-suit-consolidation-hearing-begins-in-san-diego-courthouse.html
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