Judge May Allow Additional Claims Against Toyota

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Law.com

Amanda Bronstad

A federal judge has opened the door for additional economic damages claims to be asserted against Toyota Motor Corp. in the multidistrict litigation over its sudden unintended acceleration recalls.

The temporary order Monday by U.S. District Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, Calif., came after the plaintiffs' steering committee in the MDL filed its first consolidated complaint for economic damages on Aug. 2. In it, they claimed that Toyota knowingly hid defects associated with unintended acceleration beginning in 2002 while falsely assuring consumers about the safety of its vehicles.

The committee actually brought two complaints: an economic loss master consolidated complaint, or MCC, filed on behalf of some 50 named consumers and four businesses nationwide; and a first amended consolidated complaint filed by 10 consumers and two businesses in California. Both assert California consumer-protection laws, including the California Legal Remedies Act and the California Unfair Competition Law.

The committee asserted that the MCC was filed to handle pleadings, the merits of the case and discovery issues that are part of the MDL, while the first amended consolidated complaint is a "vehicle for class certification and trial" because it simplifies the process by applying only California law, rather than a hodgepodge of various state laws, according to recent court documents.

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