Toyota Has a Busy Year Dealing With Acceleration Investigation and Claims - Newsome Law (blog)
In the past year, Toyota paid a $1. 2 billion fine following a federal criminal investigation, faced plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation, and begun making settlement payments to claimants. The federal government and consumers allege Toyota defrauded car buyers when it didn’t disclose the problems with its Toyota, Lexus, and Scion vehicles behind incidents of sudden unintended acceleration. They say the problems stemmed from the installation of incompatible floor mats that trapped the vehicles’ gas pedals, as well as “sticky” gas pedals becoming stuck in a partially depressed position. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced on March 19, 2014 that Toyota agreed to pay $1. 2 billion to settle a four-year criminal investigation, which he described as “the largest penalty of its kind ever imposed on an automotive company. While the Attorney General didn’t specifically mention GM , he did say: “Other car companies should not repeat Toyota’s mistake: a recall may damage a company’s reputation, but deceiving your customers makes that damage far more lasting. Billion-Dollar Fine After a four-year investigation, the federal government filed criminal charges accusing Toyota of wire fraud in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 20, 2014. Source: newsomelaw.com
