All Entries Tagged With: "lawsuit"

Ford In Class-Action Lawsuit for Updating Owner’s Manuals

Perhaps class-action lawsuits are good for our society, but I’m not seeing much evidence of that. Instead, I’m seeing bogus class-action lawsuits levied with little cause at every turn. Toyota settled a class-action lawsuit for $1.6 billion earlier this year, despite the fact that no one has ever been able to prove Toyota’s electronic throttle systems have a flaw. The law firms behind that class-action suit supposedly earned about $200 million in fees for their efforts, begging the question as to whether this class-action lawsuit was legitimate.

Now let’s be clear – I’m not saying that the lawyers behind this class-action business are all a bunch of greedy, blood-sucking scum who perverted the legal system for their own financial gain. I’m just saying that I think that’s a motivation for some of the lawyers involved.

Are all lawyers bad? No. But the people behind these seemingly groundless class action lawsuits deserve a special place in hell.

Unfortunately, it’s Ford’s turn to face their own class-action lawsuit with dubious value. Specifically, Ford is being sued because they failed to provide “instructions on ‘what to do’ should an [sudden acceleration] event occur could mean the difference between life and death” to owners of older Ford vehicles, while offering these instructions to newer vehicle owners.

That’s right – Ford is being sued because they updated their owners manuals.

F-150’s Plastic Underbody Fuel Tank Shield Spells Trouble

As a general rule, I don’t like to presume that a plastic part is automatically inferior to a similar part made from metal. There are plenty of examples of plastic and/or composite parts (from intake manifolds to frame cross-members) being used effectively. However, Ford might have screwed up when they replaced the F-150’s steel fuel tank shield (aka fuel tank skid plate) with plastic.

This past week, a Florida jury awarded $4 million to a plaintiff who sued Ford for basically going cheap on the fuel tank shield (aka skid plate). From Yahoo News:

Toyota Motions to Dismiss Electronic Throttle Lawsuits

Citing that no defects have ever been found in their electronic throttle systems, Toyota has asked the judge overseeing a nationwide lawsuit to dismiss the case (link). We discussed this lawsuit back in March, citing experts who predicted Toyota would have to pay as much as $10 billion in total damages if they lost this case.

According to Toyota:

Biller Liar, Pants On Fire

UPDATE: Biller’s racketeering allegations against Toyota have been dismissed by the arbitrator overseeing the case. What’s more, Biller has been ordered to pay Toyota more $2.5 million in damages for his lies.

Dimitrious Biller (that’s pronounced “by-ler”, hence the headline) is a lawyer and former Toyota employee who filed a racketeering lawsuit against Toyota last August. In that suit, Biller alleged that Toyota systematically hid information in civil lawsuits in order to save money. While it’s certainly possible, we’ve found more evidence that shows Biller is most likely a liar.

Toyota Racketeering Lawsuit Filed By Former Toyota Attorney

Dimitrious P. Biller, former managing counsel for Toyota’s National Rollover Program, has filed a lawsuit against Toyota alleging a conspiracy to hide evidence in numerous roll-over lawsuits. Specifically, Biller alleges that Toyota withheld data regarding vehicle roof strength in a series of lawsuits he oversaw between 2003 and 2007. This conspiracy, if proven to be legitimate, would fall under the general category of “racketeering.”

Story Update December 2009

When Biller made his claims earlier this year, many attorneys asked to re-open previous rollover lawsuits against Toyota. However, after reviewing Biller’s conspiracy evidence, an independent attorney in Texas decided not to re-open 17 rollover cases he had previously pursued.

According to Texas attorney E. Todd Tracy, who represents victims in 17 Toyota rollover cases, “It’s my belief, after reviewing these documents, that the evidence [presented by Biller] will not assist my suits…I’m disappointed beyond belief.” (link)

This information seems to support the conclusion that Biller’s lawsuit against Toyota is frivolous.

Original Story Continued…

Biller, a former Toyota employee, has an interesting past. In addition to helping Toyota successfully litigate a dozen rollover lawsuits, Biller also represented Ford Motor Company in a series of product liability lawsuits in the early-to-mid 90’s. According to his website, Biller is an experienced attorney in the realm of product liability who has made a living representing big companies.

Former Toyota attorney Biller alleges a Toyota conspiracy to hide vehicle roof data