Toyota has won the first bellwether trial over sudden acceleration defects after a Los Angeles jury found no design defects caused a 2006 Camry to suddenly accelerate, killing its 66-year-old driver.
The jury, which began deliberating last week after two months of testimony in the case of Noriko Uno, who died in the 2009 accident, announced its verdict late Thursday. According to a courtroom video recording of the verdict by Courtroom View Network, the jury found fault on the part of another driver whose 2003 Lexus struck Uno just before her car began accelerating down a residential road in Upland, Calif. The jury awarded $10 million in noneconomic damages to Uno’s husband and son based on the negligence of Olga Bello, the other driver.
