Five class members have appealed the recent approval of a $1.6 billion settlement between Toyota and thousands of consumers who claim to have lost value on their vehicles following the 2010 recalls for sudden acceleration defects.
Two class members, Maryland residents Allen Snyder and Linton Weeks, filed a petition on Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging U.S. District Judge James Selna’s July 24 approval of the deal. They previously objected that a provision granting $30 million to an automotive research fund essentially endorsed Toyota position that drivers were to blame for accidents, not defects in the electronic throttle control system of their vehicles—the dispute at the heart of the litigation.
