Suit Alleges that Toyota Knew, but Concealed, the Risk of Uncontrolled Acceleration

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2010) Baron & Budd, P.C. has filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (jointly “Toyota”) on behalf of Toyota drivers who have been affected by Toyota’s recent recalls related to sudden unintended acceleration. Read the Complaint.

As facts are emerging in the onslaught of news about Toyota’s problems, it is becoming increasingly clear that Toyota knew about the acceleration problem long before it informed consumers of that risk. Once it could no long keep the problem hidden, Toyota continued to mislead the public about the scope and magnitude of the problem. By hiding the full truth about its accelerator problems, Toyota induced many more people to buy its cars—who might have made other choices if they had had full information.

As the list of recalled cars expanded over the past weeks, Toyota owners were told to continue driving their cars unless they were actually experiencing signs of the accelerator defect because Toyota was sure that uncontrolled acceleration would not occur without some prior warning.

Many drivers, like the named plaintiff in the present lawsuit against Toyota, were understandably concerned about the safety of continuing to drive vehicles that had been recalled because of a serious, even fatal, defect. But Toyota had no provisions for drivers whose cars had been recalled.

“We need to get to the bottom of what Toyota knew, when they knew it, and what the real risks are,” said Bruce Steckler, a Baron & Budd shareholder involved in the Toyota litigation. “Toyota has left its costumers confused, afraid and alone; and the company needs to make this right.”

About Baron & Budd, P.C.
Dallas-based Baron & Budd, P.C., with offices in Baton Rouge, Austin and Beverly Hills, is a nationally recognized firm with more than three decades of experience representing people and communities harmed by corporate negligence. It has been recognized repeatedly by the National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” (2002-2006, 2008; Incisive Media). The firm resolved one of the first asbestos cases in the United States in the 1970s and continues to serve people diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer—as our case results reflect—as well as communities and consumers dealing with the costs of fraud and corporate misconduct.