If there’s one thing Toyota has in abundance in the U.S., apart from sales and models, it is lawsuits. This time, though, the Japanese automaker scored a victory as U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney in California denied a class-action lawsuit by owners of Prius and Lexus models.
More specifically, the judge denied four car owners’ request to represent other owners of 2010 Prius and Lexus HS 250h models in California over a 2010 recall for a software upgrade that fixed an issue with the cars’ ABS system.
The judge said that three out of the four plaintiffs, along with the majority of the claimed class, didn’t suffer any injury from the defect. Moreover, he accepted Toyota’s request and threw out the claims of one of the four plaintiffs as he had not suffered any injuries and had no problems with his Prius after the software upgrade.
Carney also said that he had “seriously doubt” the two of remaining three plaintiffs would win their cases as they, too, suffered no injuries and suggested that the attorneys of the fourth, who blames a defect on his Prius’ brakes for his accident, should file for a trial date.
“After nearly three years of litigating this matter, we are pleased the court agrees that that no class exists and that plaintiffs are not entitled to any class-wide relief in light of Toyota’s swift and effective market action to address its customers’ concerns”, said Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore. The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, Karin Fisch, wasn’t available for comment.
By Andrew Tsaousis
Story References: Automotive News
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