Toyota’s lawsuits, based on unintended acceleration, took a step back for consumers seeking compensation.  Hundreds have filed suits against Toyota seeking damages based on their vehicles accelerating out of control.  In at least one case, the acceleration caused a fatal accident.  In every case, consumers argue, that this problem has severely impacted the resale value of their Toyota.

Why Are Consumers In A Worse Position After The Latest Toyota Ruling?

Many of the lawsuits brought against Toyota were brought in California.  While California is known for having beautiful beaches, unbeatable weather and great wine, it is also known for consumer-friendly laws.  These laws would have given those seeking damages a better chance to receive some type of economic damage.

The judgment is based upon the basic idea that where you suffer injury is where you should bring a claim (i.e. if your car suddenly accelerates in Tampa, Florida, you should bring your lawsuit in Florida). The judge made his decision based on the fact that roughly 70% of economic-loss cases were filed outside the state.  Using California law to try the case could result in a judgment that would be barred by laws in other states.

Why Is Toyota In A Worse Position After The Latest Toyota Ruling?

While Toyota is undoubtedly happy that the lawsuits against it are not being consolidated and tried under California Law, they did receive some bad news.  Toyota was seeking to utilize a report compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration entitled, “Technical Assessment of Toyota Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) Systems,” and a National Aeronautics and Space Administration report, “Technical Support to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the Reported Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Unintended Acceleration (UA) Investigation” in order to show that there was nothing wrong with their vehicles.  Neither the government agencies nor Toyota were able to find any electronic malfunction, but rather found that it was likely driver error that caused the problem.

However, the court did not take judicial notice of these reports.  Judicial notice is when a court takes a piece of information as the truth and is not subject to questioning.  Usually, judicial notice is taken of a certain date, like saying May 12, 2011 was a Thursday.  If the court had taken these reports as part under judicial notice, those seeking to sue Toyota would have an incredibly difficult time proving that they were injured since the reports show that Toyota was not at fault.

What do you think?  Should Toyota have to pay for a lower resale value?  Do you think it is driver error that caused the Toyota Problems?

To learn more about the Toyota recall check out LawInfo. To speak with an experienced Toyota recall attorney, click here to find qualified legal representation