ThrottleGate: First class-action lawsuit filed against Toyota over pedal recall

[NewsFeeder]

Filed under: Government/Legal, Japan, Recalls, Toyota

With Toyota's woes seemingly multiplying by the day, you knew it was just a matter of time before the lawyers arrived on scene. Cue two law firms, Parker Waichman Alonso and the Becnel Law Firm, that are joining forces in a bid to sue Toyota's pants off.

The suit hopes to attain class action status and is "intended to benefit all residents of the United States who purchased a Toyota vehicle of model years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and/or 2010 that is subject to the recalls." How many cars is that? We don't have a total off the top of our head, but considering the Camry has been the best selling car in the U.S. for all six of those years, and the Corolla has been number three or four over the course of that same time frame, we'll go ahead and say the answer is a staggeringly large number.

But hang on one minute: Since all the affected cars have been recalled by Toyota and will (eventually) be repaired, what could the two law firms possibly be suing ToMoCo for? Away we go:

[Parker Waichman Alonso] and the [becnel Law Firm allege] that, as a result of these recalls, Toyota owners lost the use of their vehicles, and sustained, among things, economic losses and severe emotional distress. The complaint charges Toyota with breach of implied warranty and negligence, and seeks compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages for the Class, as well as equitable and declaratory relief. It also asks the Court to enjoin Toyota from implementing any fixes in the accelerator pedals of the subject vehicles without approval from the NHTSA.

There you have it. And yes, they really did mention emotional distress.

[source: The Auto Channel | Image: Corbis]

ThrottleGate: First class-action lawsuit filed against Toyota over pedal recall originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Intrepidation]

As much as I like seeing Toyota being offered a heaping serving of humble pie, this is just bull$h!. While this is a massive recall, it's no different from any other recall where safety is an issue. If they won this, then on that basis they could sue Ford for its cruise control fires, and any other company that's ever made a recall. All they plan to do is make a profit anyway, the owners will never see a dime of it.

[Drew Dowdell]

Emotional distress?

At what... having their pre-concieved notions about their superior purchasing decisions, as influenced by Consumer Reports, diminished?

[Croc]

This is so stupid. At least sue for something, I dunno, winnable? Like the cover-up, delayed recalling, wrongful death, etc.

[ShadowDog]

As soon as I read the words, 'class-action', I immediately assumed this had absolutely nothing to do with the deaths involved with this particular issue.

Then I read the words, "severe emotional distress"... severe? Seriously?

This is probably the one time I'll feel sorry for Toyota.