Toyota Unintended-Accel Shareholder Lawsuit Diminished
By AutoObserver Staff July 12, 2011A ruling in a U.S. District Court in California drastically curtailed the scope of a potential class-action lawsuit alleging Toyota Motor Corp. executives misled investors by concealing internal problems related to the company’s early-2010 struggle with allegations of unintended acceleration. In a ruling last week, Judge Dale S. Fischer of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles dismissed 26 of 33 claims related to company statements referenced in the suit.
The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that consolidates multiple shareholder complaints against Toyota surrounding the unintended-acceleration crisis. The lawsuit claims Toyota misrepresented or deliberately did not disclose facts related to recalls of up to 10 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles at a cost of some $5 billion – and that Toyota’s actions caused a $30 billion drop in the company's market value. “Nothing in the complaint permits a strong inference that any of the defendants intentionally misled investors about Toyota’s corporate strategy with regard to quality and safety,” Reuters quoted Judge Fischer as saying in the ruling.
LEAVE A COMMENT