Judge: I will again deny dismissal of Toyota suits

AP via SFGate ^ | 4/29/11 | GREG RISLING, Associated Press

[SmithL]

A federal judge in California said Friday that he will deny another request from Toyota Motor Corp. to dismiss lawsuits filed by car owners who claim sudden-acceleration defects caused the value of their vehicles to drop.

U.S. District Judge James Selna said in a 30-page ruling that the lawsuits have enough merit to move forward.

"Taking these allegations as true, as the court must at the pleading stage, they establish an economic loss," Selna wrote. "Plaintiffs bargained for safe, defect-free vehicles, but instead received unsafe, defective vehicles. A vehicle with a defect is worth less than one without a defect." ...

The automaker's defense was buoyed earlier this year when U.S. regulators said electronic flaws weren't to blame for unintended acceleration. Plaintiffs' attorneys, however, want to look at Toyota's secretive source code that may provide more information about the electronic throttle control system.

[SmithL]

Selna, James V.

Born 1945 in San Jose, CA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Central District of California
Nominated by George W. Bush on January 29, 2003, to a seat vacated by J. Spencer Letts; Confirmed by the Senate on March 27, 2003, and received commission on March 27, 2003.

Education:
Stanford University, A.B., 1967
Stanford Law School, J.D., 1970

Professional Career:
Captain, U.S. Army Reserve, 1967-1978
Private practice, California, 1970-1998
Judge, Superior Court, Orange County, California, 1998-2003

[Cicero]

Looks like Bush made a mistake.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Reading the opinion, I think his point is that the case is legally sound. He is not ruling on the facts, which must be done by a jury. I don’t know if a judge has the authority to dismiss a lawsuit for lack of factual basis, but I suppose he could. In this case the facts are not completely clear. Unfortunately, a jury might find for the plaintiffs. I say unfortunately, because I suspect the suits are not grounded in fact.

[willk]

My first thought was “another Clinton appointed judge”. But this one was appointed by W.

[TheOldLady]

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[pogo101]

There is nothing that a judge can do if the allegations, TAKEN AS TRUE, state a claim for relief. And these plaintiffs are saying that their Toyotas all suddenly accelerated out of control through no fault of the drivers. Sounds like a claim to me, even if I happen not to believe that most of them are factually correct.

[blueunicorn6]

U.S. regulators said there isn’t a problem with the electronics, but the plaintiff’s lawyers want to see the secretive code. Here’s the code “TORA!TORA!TORA!” What a bunch of assholes.

[Candor7]

The goal of the anti Toyota campaign is single pointed: UNIONIZE TOYOTA.

Every leftist freak judge in the USA is gunning for them.THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF SUCH A PROBLEM... MIT STUDY FOUND NOTHING, after studying all evidence and doing research on vehicles themselves.......” Driver Error”.

(I made a point of buying a brand new Toyota FJ Cruiser..they are not “Government Motors.” Thats a BIG plus.)

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

but the plaintiff’s lawyers want to see the secretive code.

Toyota should get the secretive medical, tort, and political records of the plaintiffs. The jury should know if the plaintiffs are nuts, have a propensity to make false claims, or an agenda such as anti-union activity. The plaintiffs want secrets, so should Toyota.