A national class action lawsuit has been filed against Toyota Motor Corp. under the federal racketeering statute (RICO), which prohibits ongoing fraudulent activities.
This lawsuit is unique among the lawsuits filed in the wake of Toyota’s worldwide recall of 10.7 million vehicles. Instead of targeting only the defects themselves, it targets Toyota’s repeated efforts to deceive its car owners – and even its own dealers – as to the mechanical and electrical problems mushrooming within its fleet of vehicles. The complaint alleges that, although Toyota knew of these problems years before the recent recalls, it continued to assure its dealers and the general public that its vehicles were perfectly safe.
According to reports, the government has found Toyota made “inaccurate and misleading” statements about the causes of these mechanical and electrical problems. And, more recently, Toyota has refused to give government investigators access to its vehicles’ event data recorder – similar to an airplane’s “black box” – under the guise that its technology is proprietary.
The class action lawsuit claims Toyota drivers should not have to make monthly lease or loan payments on recalled Toyotas until their vehicles have been repaired according to specifications approved by the government. Instead, it asks the Court to force Toyota to make those lease or loan payments until that happens. According to the lawsuit, this novel, payment-shifting approach would benefit both Toyota drivers and the public: it would relieve drivers of the unfair burden of making payments on cars they can’t safely drive and would increase participation in this recall, thereby removing a greater number of dangerous cars from the streets.
If you or a loved one has purchased or been injured by a Toyota you may have a claim for damages. Please contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION.