U.S. Court Approves $1.6 Billion Toyota Settlement

A federal judge in Santa Ana, Calif., has given final approval to Toyota Motor Corp.'s $1.6 billion settlement of economic claims related to its 2009-2010 sudden-acceleration recalls.

The company reached the accord in December to resolve a class-action lawsuit brought by owners of Toyota, Lexus and Scion owners who claimed that the safety campaigns hurt the resale value of their vehicles. Toyota recalled more than 10 million cars and trucks worldwide to fix a pair of mechanical defects it said could cause unintended acceleration: loose floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals.

The company said at that time that it would take a $1.1 billion one-time charge to cover the expense of the settlement.

That agreement includes $757 million in cash: $227 million for attorneys' fees and the balance for former owners who lost money on the sale of their vehicles between September 2009 and the end of 2010. The remaining $875 million of the settlement for "non-monetary benefits" covers programs for auto safety research and Toyota's costs to retrofit brake override systems on about 4.8 million vehicles.

The company still faces state and federal lawsuits alleging wrongful death or personal injury caused by unintended acceleration in its vehicles. The first wrongful death trial is scheduled to begin this month in state court in Los Angeles. It involves a woman whose Toyota Camry crashed into a tree at high speed in 2009.