First Toyota Trial in Federal MDL Will Not Begin Until Early 2013: Judge

The federal judge overseeing the Toyota litigation over sudden acceleration problems has indicated that the first trial in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) will likely not begin until early 2013. 

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge James Selna asked attorneys involved in the more than 200 Toyota lawsuits that have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, to select three to five “bellwether” test cases before April 15. However, Judge Selna indicated that the first case was not likely to go before a jury before early 2013, even though that may result in the first Toyota trial occurring in state court, outside of the MDL.

All of the Toyota product liability lawsuits involve similar allegations that drivers or passengers experienced an injury or death after their Toyota or Lexus vehicles accelerated unexpectedly out of control. The court has christened the alleged defect “Sudden Unintended Acceleration”, or SUA.

Toyota recalls have been issued for about 11 million vehicles since September 2009, with 8.5 million recalled due to complaints that they may accelerate out of control. The recalls were issued in waves, starting with 4.2 million recalled for problems involving the floormats, and then later recalls indicated that there was a mechanical or electrical problem with the gas pedals.

A number of experts and attorneys have claimed that the problems are caused by a defective electronic throttle system widely used in Toyota and Lexus vehicles, but officials from the auto maker continue to deny those allegations.

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