The past year has not exactly been kind to plaintiffs attorneys pursuing sudden-acceleration claims against Toyota Motor Corp. In February, the U.S. government appeared to refute their most powerful argument. In May, a federal judge threw out a major group of claims. One month later, he refused to sanction an immediate appeal of that ruling.
Still, coordinated litigation against the automaker continues to chug along, with trials set for early next year. California is home to the federal multidistrict litigation that includes essentially all federal cases from across the country filed against Toyota. On separate consolidated tracks are cases raising claims under California, New York and Texas state laws. By all indications, 2013 will be the year those cases come to trial.
