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| Toyota to face claims from owners after US court ruling | Toyota to face claims from owners after US court ruling |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Toyota car owners in the US can pursue claims that the carmaker caused the value of their vehicle to fall, a federal judge has ruled. | |
| The owners argue they have suffered economic losses because Toyota didn't disclose or fix defects that made their cars accelerate suddenly. | The owners argue they have suffered economic losses because Toyota didn't disclose or fix defects that made their cars accelerate suddenly. |
| Toyota had made a motion for the lawsuits to be dismissed but a US judge has allowed the claims to move ahead. | Toyota had made a motion for the lawsuits to be dismissed but a US judge has allowed the claims to move ahead. |
| In 2009, Toyota started recalling millions of US vehicles. | In 2009, Toyota started recalling millions of US vehicles. |
| "Taking these allegations as true, as the court must at the pleading stage, they establish an economic loss," wrote US district Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California. | "Taking these allegations as true, as the court must at the pleading stage, they establish an economic loss," wrote US district Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California. |
| "A vehicle with a defect is worth less than one without a defect." | "A vehicle with a defect is worth less than one without a defect." |
| 'No proof' | |
| Toyota said there was no evidence of the defects. | |
| "Toyota is confident that no defect exists in its electronic throttle control system," spokeswoman Celeste Migliore said in a statement. | |
| "The burden is now squarely on plaintiffs' counsel to prove their allegations, and Toyota is confident that no such proof exists." | |
| However, the representative for the car owners said there was a rationale for the claims. | |
| "Judge Selna agreed with our contention that Toyota owners who did not attempt to sell their vehicle could still bring a claim because they overpaid for their vehicles, buying cars that were not worth as much as a car free of these defects," said Steve Berman, co-lead counsel for many of the plaintiffs. | |
| Recalls | |
| Toyota started recalling cars globally in September 2009, beginning with 3.8m vehicles that it said had a defect that might cause floor mats to press the accelerator pedal. | |
| Following that, in January 2010 another 2.3m cars were recalled due to sticking accelerator pedals. | |
| Finally, another 2.17m vehicles were recalled in the US, again for carpet and floor mat issues that could cause jams in the accelerator pedal. |