Anna Bradley-Smith  |  July 19, 2021

Category: Auto News

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Toyota - HVAC issues in Toyota Camry
(Photo credit: ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock)

A group of Toyota Camry owners who allege that Toyota conspired to sell defective vehicles has urged a Florida federal judge to move their class action lawsuit forward.

At a hearing in Miami, the group told U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis that they had presented sufficient evidence — including internal documents — to support their claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Law360 reports.

The drivers allege that Toyota and several of its subsidiaries, as well as Southeast Toyota Distributors LLC (SET) conspired to sell or lease millions of Camrys that were equipped with defective heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

According to the Toyota Camry lawsuit, those systems retained moisture, which led to the growth of bacteria, mold and fungi in the vehicles that resulted in foul, noxious and toxic odors being emitted into the passenger compartments.

The Toyota Camry class action lawsuit was filed in 2018.

At the recent hearing, the drivers presented documents that show two Toyota managers discussed that the root problem was in the design of the cars’ condenser system and how it drains the condensation, but the automaker’s engineers were not willing to redesign it due to cost considerations, according to Law360.

“It is undisputed that both Toyota and SET knew they had a problem with their HVAC system for years and years and years and years, and they couldn’t come to grips with it,” Peter Prieto of Podhurst Orseck PA, who is representing the drivers, told the court.

“You don’t have to take our word for it. It’s in their documents, and it’s reported by our experts.”

Prieto added that with the totality of the evidence and the inference, the drivers should be able to argue in front of a jury.

“It’s not just one particular document. It’s document after document after document,” he said. “They’re coming up with words like ‘normal’ or ‘naturally occurring’ to mask a problem in their HVAC system.”

However, at Tuesday’s hearing, Toyota and SET argued that the three plaintiffs left in the class action lawsuit had failed to identify a misleading statement or omission they made in connection with the purchase of their cars.

“RICO requires fraudulent conduct that actually deceives someone out of money, and that does not exist here,” Toyota counsel David L. Schrader of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP said. He added that did not happen in any of the plaintiffs’ situations.

He also argued that there was no evidence of a defect in the plaintiffs’ vehicles, adding that Toyota stands by its position that the odor problem is a “naturally occurring” phenomenon that is more prevalent in the humid southeastern U.S.

At the hearing, SET counsel Robert E. Sacks of Shapiro Blasi Wasserman & Hermann PA said SET’s knowledge and authority in engineering and design issues had been overstated in the Toyota Camry lawsuit. He added that SET representatives “have never to date been advised that the class vehicles at issue here have a defective HVAC system.”

However, Prieto argued that internal communications between SET and Toyota showed the company’s knowledge of the design defect, as well as decisions to not address it and keep consumers in the dark, Law360 reports.

Have you ever experienced an odor issue with a Toyota Camry? Tell us your experience in the comments section!

The Camry owners are represented by Peter Prieto, John Gravante III, Matthew Weinshall and Alissa Del Riego of Podhurst Orseck PA; Joseph H. Meltzer, Melissa L. Troutner, Tyler S. Graden, and Natalie Lesser of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP; and Paul R. Kiesel, Jeffrey A. Koncius and Nicole Ramirez of Kiesel Law LLP.

Toyota is represented by Robert M. Brochin, Brian M. Ercole, Melissa M. Coates, Matthew M. Papkin, J. Gordon Cooney Jr., David L. Schrader, Lisa R. Weddle and Mark Feller of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

Southeast Toyota is represented by Robert E. Sacks of Shapiro Blasi Wasserman & Hermann PA.

The Toyota HVAC Conspiracy Class Action Lawsuit is Cardenas et al. v. Toyota Motor Corp. et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-22798, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.


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21 thoughts on​​Consumers Alleging Racketeering at Toyota Urge Judge to Forward Their Case

  1. guest says:

    Just when i wanted to switch to this brand from Honda garbage quality and terrible customer service. I guess i’ll buy a bicycle instead. I regular one so it doesn’t have any e-assist battery, motor, or other components that will fail. Insanity.

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