Toyota faces racketeering claims in consumer suits

[DainBramaged]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Lawyers seeking civil damages against Toyota Motor Corp. on behalf of U.S. consumers for diminished resale value of recalled vehicles are broadening their cases to add racketeering claims against the automaker.

Using federal racketeering laws to amend the consumer class-action complaints, which have grown in number to more than 80 suits in at least 40 states, exposes Toyota to much greater potential liability.

Under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, a commercial enterprise can be found liable for triple the damages for any harm caused by its fraudulent activities.

As a result, litigation that originally stood to reap more than $2 billion in damages for Toyota owners could end up costing the cash-rich Japanese automaker in excess of $10 billion, said Tim Howard, lead counsel for a team of law firms handling about half the cases.

Each of the revised lawsuits is "a much more robust and thorough complaint than the first rounds because of how the evidence has evolved since then," Howard said.

A Toyota spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday. The automaker has declined to comment on pending litigation to date.

New evidence

The updated complaints draw on numerous documents and congressional testimony by Toyota executives to make the case that the company was aware of unintended acceleration problems in its vehicles for several years, even as it continued to promote defective cars as safe and reliable.

One suit in Florida cites a technical service bulletin it says the automaker issued in August 2002 "concerning an engine surge or acceleration problem with the new 2002 Camry, with the solution to recalibrate the Engine Control Module."

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100317/OEM/303179940/1147#ixzz0iXXOjRKV

[mstinamotorcity]

1. I wonder does this mean

that next years contribution to Mitch McConnell's charitable organization will be short.He has already received almost one million dollars from Toyota.

[HopeHoops]

2. It has always been a slime-ball company. No shock that they're hiding things now.

I'm waiting for them to try to use the so called "black box evidence" in court. They can't do that without opening it up to outside scrutiny and they're not going to do that. It is much more cost effective to install placebo shims and hire private investigators to dig up dirt on people who "claim" to have been victims of Toyota's fucked up computer system. They can't reproduce the problem because they haven't figured it out! So, since they can't reproduce it, obviously it didn't happen. I can't reproduce the big bang, the Civil War, or the era of the dinosaurs, but that doesn't mean none of them happened.

[Romulox]

3. A lot of Toyota's supporters don't understand civil discovery, or why lawsuits are settled...

Toyota will likely begin setting aside several billion to pay these claims.

[Johonny]

4. seriously dude purchase commercial time from Skinner

[DainBramaged]

5. Seriously "dude", join my ignore list

[PBS Poll-435]

6. Not going to happen. Sorry

:(

[DainBramaged]

7. We'll see. You are so confident in replying with authority to all of these articles

that you must have ties to Toyota or inside information.


Or you simply just like to be seen as foolish.

[PBS Poll-435]

8. Take your pick.

:-)

[Missy Vixen]

9. Some of the parties suing are in Washington State

which boasts some of the more stringent consumer protection laws in the country.

If you think that Washington's AG office is going to give Toyota a pass, you might want to reflect on the fate of Thomason Autogroup here. The festivities happened sixteen years ago, but Washington had the stones to bar a company that made $370 million in our state from doing business here again due to violations of our consumer protection laws.

Toyota's free to blow off other states around the country. I can't wait till they try it here.

[Texasgal]

10. but...but...

they must all be lying!!!!!! :eyes:

[PBS Poll-435]

11. Yeah

They are. (Or they are just ignorant/mistaken)

:cry:

[Texasgal]

12. Everyone is lying?

Really?

[PBS Poll-435]

13. Nope. Ignorant, big-footed, or stupid.

nt

[Texasgal]

14. Ohhh.. I see.

I didn't realize that everyone ELSE is stupid! You got me there! :eyes:

[PBS Poll-435]

15. Bandwagon effect. nt

[DainBramaged]

16. Yup yup we be all dumb and stuff and ToYYoYota be the shitz....

[spoony]

17. That's about the only argument Toyota's people are left with. nt