Toyota and Lexus California Class Action Lawsuit

California Toyota and Lexus owners have a remedy: a class action lawsuit in California Superior Court

Casey Gerry, one of San Diego’s oldest and most respected consumer law firms, has filed a class action suit in California Superior court on behalf of all California Toyota and Lexus owners whose vehicles have lost value because of the recalls. Casey Gerry has joined with three other distinguished consumer attorney firms, Tracee Lorens and Associates and the Turley Law Firm, of San Diego, and the Law offices of Marino and Sahhar of Escondido, to protect the rights of all California Lexus and Toyota owners who have suffered financial injury because of Toyota’s and Lexus’s continuing problems with sudden unintended acceleration.

The goal of this lawsuit is to make consumers whole. It is not to put Toyota out of business. The optimal solution would be just and fair compensation for vehicle owners and improvements in vehicle design, manufacturing quality, and vehicle safety that restore Toyota’s reputation of excellence.

Toyota Class Action Lawsuit Videos

Sign On San Diego
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/27/two-car-owners-in-county-sue-toyota-in-state-court/  

Fox5 video
http://www.fox5sandiego.com/videobeta/a923880f-66b3-4042-8f22-fd7d0295bda2/N

Is my car covered in this lawsuit? This class action suit will cover not only the models and years currently on the recall list, but all Toyota and Lexus vehicles owned by California residents.

To date Toyota has recalled nearly 8 million vehicles, of which 18%, or 1.4 million, are owned by Californians. In addition to those on the recall list, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, is investigating reports of brake failures in the 2007-2010 Prius, and steering malfunctions in the Corolla.

What is a class action, and how does it work? A class action is a lawsuit in which a large group of people who share a common problem (for example, the loss of value of their vehicles) bring a claim to court against the people or company responsible for the problem. The suit seeks to establish a class, that is, to describe the group of all people who have been similarly harmed, and who are eligible to join the suit. Once the class action is certified by the court, everyone who meets the definition of the class (in this suit, all California resident owners of recalled Toyota and Lexus vehicles) is invited to join.

A class action is more efficient and cost effective for the legal system, because one suit is filed instead of thousands. Class actions are fair to plaintiffs and defendants, because a uniform outcome and a uniform remedy apply to all members of the class. Plaintiffs, the people who have been injured, benefit particularly, because a lawsuit against a large multinational corporation with deep pockets and its own legal staff is a very expensive undertaking. Most individuals do not have the resources to fight this kind of fight.

In a class action, lawyers for the plaintiff generally do not charge individual participants up front. They file the suit, do the research and investigative work, hire the expert witnesses, and do all the extensive preparation required for the trial with the agreement that their fees will come out of the final settlement.

Casey Gerry’s California Superior Court Suit compared to the federal suit
The loss of value class action suit filed by Casey Gerry and its partners in California Superior Court enjoys several advantages over the federal suit.

•  California consumer protection law has some of the strongest pro-consumer provisions in the nation, substantially stronger than federal law. By filing in state court, Casey Gerry, and its partner firms, will prosecute their case under California state law rather than Federal law and their clients will benefit from California’s stronger protections.

•  Casey Gerry and its partner firms are based in California, and their suit focuses exclusively on the needs of California resident Toyota and Lexus owners. Only California residents may join this suit.

•  The judge and attorneys in the federal suit must deal with over 100 cases from many different states, which have different, often confliction requirements. Issues and complications arising from conflicting state laws will cause delays and require precious time to resolve.  Because all members of the class in the California Suit are governed by the same law, the case will not bog down in the conflicting procedures and requirements of multiple states.

•  The Superior Court Suit is likely to be certified and move to trial much more rapidly than the federal court suit, possibly as soon as spring of 2011.