Judge Grants Final Approval to $1.6B Toyota Acceleration Settlement

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On July 19, a federal judge gave final approval to a $1.1 billion class action settlement over claims that Toyota Motor Corp. manufactured vehicles with a dangerous defect that caused unintended acceleration.

U.S. District Judge James Selna had previously requested more information about the distribution of the class action settlement funds, even though he had already found the terms of the settlement to be “fair, reasonable and adequate.” At his approval hearing, Selna called the settlement “extraordinary” because all of the money in the cash fund would be given to claimants.

According to the plaintiffs’ counsel, Class Members can receive anywhere between $125 and $10,000 depending on the level of their vehicles’ depreciation. The settlement agreement also requires Toyota to install a brake-override system in some of its recalled vehicles and to establish a customer support program. Under the terms of the class action settlement, Toyota is required to pay $30 million for automotive safety research related to driver behavior and unintended acceleration.

After receiving reports that several of its vehicles experienced unintended acceleration, Toyota recalled millions of its vehicles in 2009 and 2010. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit claimed that the defects caused the trade-in value of their vehicles to plummet.

The Toyota unintended acceleration class action lawsuit was initially filed in 2010. The plaintiffs alleged that their cars would suddenly accelerate without warning due to flaws in the electronic throttle control systems. They claim that this defect put them in significant danger of injury or death.

More than 22 million potential Class Members have been notified about the class action settlement. Affected vehicles include 1998-2010 Toyota, Lexus and Scion models sold in the United States. Owners of vehicles affected by the unintended acceleration defect will have until July 29 to file a claim. Claim filing instructions can be found in our Open Class Action Lawsuits section.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs estimate the value of this class action settlement to be as much as $1.63 billion.

This class action settlement does not resolve personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits related to the unintended acceleration defect. These cases will be handled by state and federal judges later starting later this year. A bellwether personal injury trial is scheduled to take place this month in Los Angeles Superior Court. In November, a federal bellwether personal injury is scheduled to begin in Judge Selna’s courtroom.

The plaintiffs in the Toyota unintended acceleration class action lawsuit are represented by Steve W. Berman, Lisa M. Hasselman, Elaine T. Byszwewski, Robert B. Carey, Lee M. Gordon and Barbara M. Mahoney of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP; Frank M. Pitre, Aron K. Liang, Nancy Leavitt Fineman and Joseph W. Cotchett of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP; and Marc M. Seltzer, William R.H. Merrill, Robert S. Safi, Rachel S. Black and Steven G. Sklaver of Susman Godfrey LLP, among others.

The Toyota Unintended Acceleration Class Action Lawsuitis In Re: Toyota Motor Corp Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 8:10-ml-02151, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.