SEATTLE – A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Washington state Toyota owners, demanding a full refund for their vehicles that were recalled due to unintended acceleration.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, contends that owners should be allowed to revoke the acceptance of sale contract because of an alleged breach of warranty. The suit also asks the court to order Toyota to stop selling the recalled vehicles until the safety problems are solved.
The law firm representing the owners says Toyota has taken several missteps in its handling of the problem, leaving consumers confused.
"Parents have told me that they cannot take the chance of putting their children in their Toyota, no matter how much the company touts the effectiveness of the recall fixes," said attorney Steve Berman. "When we talked with Toyota owners, they all voiced the same desire - to drive the car back to the lot, hand (Toyota) the keys and pick up a check."
That idea sounds great to Sarah Bridges. She's seen the resale value of her 2009 Camry go down fast.
"Right now, it's about $9,000 less than I actually paid, and for a Toyota that's only one year and four months old is just insane," said Bridges.
If you own a new Prius, your value has dropped $1,500 according to Kelley Blue Book. The suit claims that the resale values of the vehicles have dropped six percent since the unintended acceleration problems first began.
It also cites published reports that it could take Toyota years to complete repairs on al the recalled vehicles.
Similar suits have also been filed in Arizona and Colorado.
If the lawsuits are expanded nationwide, it could mean a settlement covering about 6 million recalled Toyotas in the U.S.
A Toyota spokesman did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Generally, the company has refused to comment on the lawsuits.
Matt Cairns, a private attorney and member a group of lawyers that represents corporations and individuals, said he didn't think the Toyota owners should be entitled to full refunds.
"If they prevail, such plaintiffs will effectively have received free transportation for the period of their ownership of a car that met their every need, something all of us would appreciate when we decide we want a new ride," said Cairns, who is the president-elect of The Voice of the Defense Bar.
Cairns said Toyota owners who sell their cars may be able to get compensation for a loss in the vehicle's value following the recall.
The full refund lawsuits come a week before a panel of federal judges will hold a hearing in San Diego on whether to consolidate more than 110 potential Toyota class-action cases before a single judge. The judge would decide whether the cases can be combined into a single "class" of affected Toyota owners and whether the case should proceed to trial.
A group of attorneys filing Toyota cases nationwide -- known as the Attorneys Toyota Action Consortium, or ATAC -- announced Monday they are adding racketeering claims to many of their lawsuits. The attorney coordinating the effort, Northeastern University law professor Tim Howard, said Toyota has known of accelerator problems since at least 2000 and engaged in a "conspiracy to hide the truth" from consumers.
"It's become increasingly apparent that Toyota profits were not built on quality products, but on a willful pattern of deception, fraud and racketeering," Howard said.
If fraud claims are successful under the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations or RICO law, Howard said, it could push total Toyota class-action damages above $10 billion.
Claims of fraud and deception have been made against Toyota in previous lawsuits, including one filed in California in July 2009 by a former Toyota employee. The newer lawsuits are based in part on documents obtained by investigative reporters and congressional committees looking into the company's recalls.
