Mexican Media Brands
U.S. Court Upholds $11 Million Acceleration Verdict Against Toyota
Toyota Motor Corp. has lost its appeal of an $11 million verdict that found the carmaker 60% liable for a triple-fatality crash in 2006 that was blamed on an accelerator defect.
#legal
Share
Toyota Motor Corp. has lost its appeal of an $11 million verdict that found the carmaker 60% liable for a triple-fatality crash in 2006 that was blamed on an accelerator defect.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that the Minnesota jury had enough evidence to justify its decision.
The crash was caused when driver Koua Fong Lee, who claimed his 1996 Toyota Camry inexplicably accelerated as he approached a car stopped at a traffic light. The resulting crash killed two occupants of the stopped car and paralyzed a third, who later died. Lee was convicted of vehicular homicide and sent to prison.
But when reports surfaced in 2010 of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, Lee’s case was reopened. He won a motion to set aside his conviction and release him from incarceration.
Lee’s car was not covered by subsequent recalls involving more than 10 million vehicles. Toyota insists Lee’s car was not the cause of the crash but hasn’t indicated if it intends to challenge the appellate court ruling.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Court Ruling Exposes GM to Punitive Damages Over Ignition Switches
A new ruling by the federal judge who presided over General Motors Corp.’s 2009 bankruptcy could expose post-bankruptcy General Motors Co. to a wave of costly punitive damage awards linked to the company’s defective ignition switches.
-
U.S. Probes Possible Bosch Role in VW Diesel Scandal
The U.S. Dept. of Justice is investigating whether Robert Bosch GmbH aided Volkswagen AG in cheating on diesel emission tests, sources tell Reuters.
-
U.S. Justice Dept. Asks VW to Delay Diesel Cheating Report
The U.S. Dept. of Justice has asked Volkswagen AG not to release findings of an independent probe into the German carmaker's diesel emission cheating scandal.