Toyota has been accused of concealing evidence about rollover accidents in a lawsuit filed by a former lawyer for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.According to a USA Today report, some consumer groups are predicting serious consequences for Toyota if allegations in the federal complaint are proven.
“If the allegations are correct that Toyota destroyed or withheld (electronic) data, it has the potential to reopen hundreds of Toyota rollover cases,” Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, told USA Today.
Victims’ lawyers are already gearing up for that fight. “The petition alleges conduct by Toyota that would cause every case ever resolved by Toyota in the past 10 years to be re-opened,” one Texas attorney who represented plaintiffs in Toyota rollover lawsuits, told Bloomberg.com. “We intend to ask the courts to re-open these lawsuits.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, the stunning allegations were made in a federal lawsuit filed by Dimitrios P. Biller, a former managing counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. His job involved defending the company in lawsuits filed by victims of injured in rollover accidents involving Toyota sport utility vehicles and trucks.
Biller’s lawsuits claims destroyed data in over 300 accidents that Biller claims proves vehicle roofs were substandard. According to the Times, lawsuits filed by the victims of these accidents blamed poor roof design for injuries and deaths. It also alleges that the automaker withheld e-mails and other computer-stored information from victims’ attorneys, the Times said.
In addition, Biller’s lawsuit claims the company hid information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding its compliance with roof safety regulations.
According to a CBS News report, Biller’s lawsuit asserts that he repeatedly complained to about these practices. The stress caused him to suffer a mental breakdown, resulting in his forced resignation in 2007, the lawsuit claims. The company gave him a $3.2 million severance payment, the Times said.
