Lawsuits may cost Toyota $3B-plus
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| A row of Toyota Prius cars sits Tuesday on the lot at Toyota of El Cajon in El Cajon, Calif. (Denis Poroy (FRE)) |
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MIAMI (AP) – Toyota owners claiming that massive safety recalls are causing the value of their vehicles to plummet have filed at least 89 class-action lawsuits that could cost the Japanese auto giant $3 billion or more, according to an Associated Press review of cases, legal precedent and interviews with experts.
Those estimates do not include potential payouts for wrongful death and injury lawsuits, which could reach in the tens of millions each. Still, the volume of cases involving U.S. Toyota owners claiming lost value – 6 million or more – could prove far more costly, adding up to losses in the billions for the automaker.
Such class-action lawsuits “are more scary for Toyota than the cases where people actually got injured,” said Tom Baker, a University of Pennsylvania law professor.
