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:

Toyota said the plaintiffs’ legal theory “defies common sense.”   According to the filing, plaintiffs would have the Court permit the cases to go forward on behalf of virtually all Toyota owners with ETCS-i, while their own portrayal of unverified data alleges that, at most, only a tiny fraction of the vehicles in question have ever experienced any sign of unintended acceleration. Said Cari K. Dawson, an attorney for Toyota. “More than a year after filing their first complaint, plaintiffs have not identified a defect and are grasping at straws to make their case.  Although the plaintiffs have recently filed a new complaint that attempts to remedy deficiencies in their earlier claims, this new complaint offers no more support for their positions and contains a number of inaccuracies and mischaracterizations. Toyota looks forward to the time when plaintiffs will finally be compelled to specify exactly what is defective in Toyota’s Electronic Throttle Control System,” Ms. Dawson said. “That will have to be backed up by scientifically reliable, admissible proof of a defect as opposed to the speculative statements of counsel at the pleadings stage.“

Evidently, Toyota expects that this lawsuit should be based on science…if only things worked that way in our legal system. Despite the fact that unintended acceleration is nearly impossible with a modern brake system in place, that it’s almost always driver error, and that NHTSA has acknowledged finding no fault with Toyota’s throttles, the lawsuit against Toyota is alive and well.

While I firmly believe Toyota’s failure to respond to acceleration fears quickly, their culture of secrecy, and their awful decision to try and negotiate away safety recalls should result in some sort of penalty for the automaker, I think that trial lawyers pursuing frivolous class-action lawsuits need to do something else with their time.