The legal department at Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. has handled hundreds of lawsuits over sudden-acceleration defects like a well-oiled machine. The 2010 recalls for defects in millions of Toyota vehicles caused years of legal headaches, many of which the company resolved during the past year under the guidance of its legal department in Torrance, Calif.
Toyota negotiated a $1.6 billion settlement of claims by consumers whose vehicles lost value, then paid $29 million to resolve consumer-rights investigations by attorneys general in 29 states and American Samoa. It reached a $25.5 million settlement with shareholders who claimed their investments in the company suffered. In individual accident cases, the company quietly negotiated deals in two actions on the eve of trial, although plenty more remain pending. The first bellwether trial in the nation against Toyota began last month, with at least three more scheduled in the coming months.
