Judge Trims Claims Against Toyota in Takata Airbag Class Action

Several claims against Toyota have been dismissed from a class action lawsuit involving Takata airbags that have prompted the recall of around 64 million vehicles in the United States.

The recalls were issued because of an alleged Takata airbag defect that can cause the airbags to explode, releasing harmful chemicals and shrapnel into the vehicle.

The Takata airbag class action lawsuits have been consolidated into an expansive multidistrict litigation (MDL) that involves several carmakers, such as Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chrysler and BMW, as well as Takata, which manufactured the allegedly defective airbag.

The Takata MDL involves economic loss claims against Takata and the car manufacturers.

The defendants have repeatedly tried to escape the litigation, but so far their efforts have been unsuccessful.

In March, the plaintiffs fought a bid by the defendants to dismiss claims from the Takata class action lawsuit.

Earlier this week, a Florida federal judge dismissed four California claims that had been lodged against Toyota, including the Song-Beverly Act, Unfair Competition Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act and False Advertising Law.

The judge found that the California laws did not apply to any of the plaintiffs named in the MDL, according to Florida’s choice-of-law rules.

“California law should not apply to the actions filed originally in Florida, Pennsylvania and Alabama,” the judge wrote, noting that Florida law applies to three of the plaintiffs’ claims because they live in Florida and purchased their vehicles in Florida.

Similarly, Massachusetts law and Nevada law apply to the claims of two other plaintiffs who live in and purchased their vehicles in those states.

The judge will keep alive state law claims for fraudulent concealment under Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Carolina and Alabama law, finding that the plaintiffs sufficiently argued their claims under these laws.

However, the judge dismissed the fraudulent concealment claims under Pennsylvania law.

Claims under the Florida Implied Warranty of Merchantability Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act were also dismissed.

The judge will allow unjust enrichment claims and state unfair trade practices claims to proceed.

Claims under the South Carolina Regulation of Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Act will also be allowed to continue.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Toyota so far has one of the highest recall completion rates of any of the other car manufacturers named in the Takata class action lawsuit.

As of Sept. 9, more than 36 percent of vehicles with the recalled Takata airbags had been repaired, according to the NHTSA.

Takata has reportedly admitted that it knew about the airbag defect but failed to alert the NHTSA about it.

Further, data Takata submitted about the airbag defect since 2009 was reportedly inaccurate and incomplete, preventing the NHTSA from getting the full picture about the potential for explosion posed by the ammonium nitrate propelled airbags.

The plaintiffs are represented by Podhurst Orseck PA, Baron & Budd PC, Colson Hicks Eidson, Power Rogers & Smith PC, Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, among others.

The Takata Airbag Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:15-md-02599, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: On Aug. 18, 2017, BMW, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota have agreed to settle economic loss class action lawsuits related to the Takata airbag defect.  Click here to file a claim!

UPDATE 2: On April 7, 2020, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Takata airbags class action settlement worth as much as $400. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!