ThrottleGate: First class-action lawsuit filed against Toyota over pedal recall

by Jonny Lieberman (RSS feed) on Jan 31st, 2010 at 12:36PM

With Toyota's woes seemingly multiplying by the day, you knew it was just a matter of time before the lawyers arrived on scene. Cue two law firms, Parker Waichman Alonso and the Becnel Law Firm, that are joining forces in a bid to sue Toyota's pants off.

The suit hopes to attain class action status and is "intended to benefit all residents of the United States who purchased a Toyota vehicle of model years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and/or 2010 that is subject to the recalls." How many cars is that? We don't have a total off the top of our head, but considering the Camry has been the best selling car in the U.S. for all six of those years, and the Corolla has been number three or four over the course of that same time frame, we'll go ahead and say the answer is a staggeringly large number.

But hang on one minute: Since all the affected cars have been recalled by Toyota and will (eventually) be repaired, what could the two law firms possibly be suing ToMoCo for? Away we go:

[Parker Waichman Alonso] and the [Becnel Law Firm allege] that, as a result of these recalls, Toyota owners lost the use of their vehicles, and sustained, among things, economic losses and severe emotional distress. The complaint charges Toyota with breach of implied warranty and negligence, and seeks compensatory, punitive and exemplary damages for the Class, as well as equitable and declaratory relief. It also asks the Court to enjoin Toyota from implementing any fixes in the accelerator pedals of the subject vehicles without approval from the NHTSA.

There you have it. And yes, they really did mention emotional distress.

[Source: The Auto Channel | Image: Corbis]

Report: MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi takes on Formula One, impresses

MotoGP racing star Valentino Rossi has ventured from two wheels to four a few times in the past, and he's always come away smiling when given the chance to strut his stuff on a Formula One track. This latest testing session, though, has left many highly impressed and others understandably worried.

Various reports have put Yamaha's star rider into the Ducati paddock come 2011 or so, but after registering times around the Mugello circuit in an F2008 racer that were just two-tenths of a second behind Kimi Raikkonen's outright lap record of 1:21.67 (set in the same car, for what it's worth), Yamaha team manager Davide Brivio said, "The greatest danger is Ferrari... I have to be worried about these excellent times because Valentino really could get the desire to change sport."

For its part, Ferrari seems very pleased with Rossi's excellent performance, and the Italian supercar manufacturer saw fit to send out a nice press release on the matter that you'll find after the break. Kudos, Valentino... and good luck!

[Sources: Autocar, The New York Times]