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The relationship between Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., and one of its former staff lawyers has gone from bad to worse. After Dimitrios Biller left the carmaker two years ago, he signed a confidentiality clause that levies a hefty penalty for each violation. Since last fall, Toyota has been pursuing a state court action in which it claims that Biller breached the clause by publicizing privileged information about the company's litigation. This summer Biller responded with a suit of his own in federal court in which he maintained that Toyota withheld evidence in personal injury cases involving the company's vehicles.

The claims in the dispute are getting increasingly heated. According to Biller's complaint, "Key Toyota executives have conspired, and continue to conspire, to unlawfully withhold evidence from plaintiffs and obstruct justice in lawsuits throughout the United States." In a filing in its state court action, Toyota argued that Biller's conduct "is driven by his own selfish financial interests and a desire to damage [Toyota] and his former colleagues."

Both sides recently scored courthouse wins. A judge on September 17 rejected Toyota's motion to seal Biller's federal suit. On September 25 a judge in Toyota's state action granted the company's request for an injunction against its ex-lawyer. The state judge also referred Biller to the California bar for possible disciplinary action.

According to Biller's complaint—which he filed in late July but which wasn't reported in the media until August—he worked as a national managing counsel at Toyota from 2003 to 2007. During that time, Biller was charged with defending the company against suits involving rollover accidents of its vehicles, including the popular 4Runner SUV.

Biller says that his disagreements with Toyota first began when electronic discovery demands from the rollover plaintiffs began ramping up in 2004. He warned his superiors that the company was not being forthcoming, but his warnings were ignored. For his efforts, Biller says, he received a poor work evaluation.

In the spring of 2007, according to his complaint, Biller's physical and mental health began deteriorating under intense pressure at work. He took a medical leave in June, and was "forced to resign" in September 2007. Biller claimed that it was a "constructive wrongful discharge," and settled with Toyota (without filing suit) for $3.7 million. The severance agreement he signed (which is attached to his complaint) included a confidentiality clause that requires him to pay $250,000 for each violation.

In his suit, Biller maintains that Toyota has tried to use the confidentiality clause to silence him. He argues that the clause doesn't apply to instances where injunctive relief is sought, and that it's invalidated by the crime-fraud exception. Biller asks that the company be enjoined from enforcing the confidentiality provision, and that it be forced to pay damages for harassing him and forcing him to resign.

In addition to Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., the suit names as defendants Christopher Reynolds, the company's current general counsel; Dian Ogilvie, the previous GC; Jane Howard Martin, an assistant GC in charge of outside counsel; Eric Taira, an assistant GC who was Biller's immediate supervisor; and Alicia McAndrews, a managing counsel in charge of airbag litigation.

Requests for comment were passed through a company media representative to the in-house lawyers, but they did not respond. Toyota spokeswoman Zoe Zeig­ler e-mailed a statement: "In our view, Mr. Biller has repeatedly breached his ethical and professional obligations, both as an attorney and in his commitments to us, by violating attorney-client privilege in defiance of a court restraining order that Toyota obtained against him."

The statement continues: "Toyota takes its legal obligations seriously and works to uphold the highest professional and ethical standards. Mr. Biller continues to make inaccurate and misleading allegations about Toyota's conduct."

After resigning from Toyota, Biller started an L.A.–based consulting firm called Litigation Discovery & Trial Consulting Inc. In the California state court action that it filed last November, Toyota sought an injunction to shut down Biller's business on the grounds that it violated the confidentiality clause in his severance agreement. Judge John Segal granted Toyota's request in his September 25 ruling, and enjoined Biller from publicizing privileged information about Toyota's lawsuits, settlements, and litigation policies.

Segal also referred Biller to the California state bar for a possible disciplinary action. "My opinion is that Mr. Biller violated the rules of professional conduct" by disclosing confidential attorney-client information, Segal said.

It's not clear that Segal's ruling will have an impact on the federal case. Segal drew a distinction between the state and federal suits. The state case alleges that Biller used Toyota's privileged work product for "personal gain" in running his business, the judge said. Biller's federal suit deals with "protecting the public from danger." Consequently, Segal said, he did not believe that Biller had violated the rules of professional conduct in the federal case.

It isn't just Biller's suit that's a worry for Toyota, but the fallout from his claims. A group of crash victims have since asked a federal court in East Texas to reopen their lawsuits against Toyota, based on the new information provided by Biller's revelations.

Toyota isn't the only target in Biller's sights. He's also filed a wrongful discharge suit against the Los Angeles district attorney's office, where he worked for about nine weeks as a deputy D.A. during the summer of 2008. He claims that he was terminated in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act because of diagnosed mental conditions and dyslexia. Toyota, which is not a party to the action, has been attempting to seal documents in that case. 

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