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Report: First Toyota unintended acceleration case headed for trial

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

2006 Toyota Camry XLE front three-quarters

Toyota is going to be back in the spotlight, as the first of its unintended acceleration lawsuits is headed for trial. This case covers a Los Angeles sushi shop owner, Noriko Uno. According to the what the family told The Detroit News, Uno only put about 10,000 miles on her 2006 Toyota Camry in four years. Uno was apparently afraid of high speeds, avoiding the freeway and taking a route home along LA’s surface streets to avoid them.

On August 28, 2009, Uno’s Camry suddenly accelerated to 100 miles per hour, eventually striking a telephone poll and a tree and killing her. The family contends that Uno attempted to step on the brakes and pull the emergency brake, neither of which brought her speed under control, while Toyota maintains that improperly installed floormats and driver error have been behind the majority of the 80 cases expected to be heard in court.

In Uno’s case, The Detroit News is expecting the trial to focus on the lack of an override if the gas and brake pedals were pressed at the same time. Brake overrides were installed on Toyota’s European fleet. The Uno family attorney will need to prove to the jury that it wasn’t driver error that killed Noriko Uno.

Uno’s case will be a bellwether case, which other state courts will use to predict potential outcomes for similar lawsuits. Toyota is also combating suits in federal court as well, although in most cases both sides have chosen to settle. The federal suit argues that the Camry and other models had defective electronic throttle control systems, despite denials from Toyota and investigations from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NASA coming up empty.

First Toyota unintended acceleration case headed for trial originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Max Mosley’s privacy case rejected by European Court of Human Rights

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, UK

Max Mosley

It appears as if Max Mosley has gotten whipped once again. But this time, it wasn’t in an alleged S&M dungeon with a gaggle of hookers dressed up as Nazi officers, it was in no less distinguished a forum than the European Court of Human Rights.

The former FIA president, as you may recall, was outed by the British tabloid News of the World back in 2008 for his sordid sex life. Rather than recoil as most might – particularly in light of longstanding accusations of Mosley and his family’s fascist sympathies and historical ties to high-ranking Nazi officials – Mosley went on the offensive. He made his case into a privacy issue and sued the newspaper, sued its publisher, and he sued a German newspaper that ran the story as well.

Once the dust settled from those lawsuits – including the nearly $100,000 (plus legal expenses) in punitive damages awarded him in court – Mosley took his case to the European Court of Human Rights. In a landmark decision being hailed by some as a victory for free speech, Mosley’s case was dismissed by the courts yesterday.

The decision ostensibly upholds the rights of the British fourth estate (that is, the media) to publish the news as it sees fit without the requirement which Mosley was seeking to notify the subject of reports before they’re published. Mosley may, however, appeal the decision, though to what higher judicial body remains unclear.

Max Mosley’s privacy case rejected by European Court of Human Rights originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Jury selection underway for Toyota unintended acceleration case

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Scion

Scion logo

According to a new Bloomberg report, jury selection has commenced in a lawsuit against Toyota stemming from the unintended acceleration debacle. Amir Sitafalwalla sued Toyota in 2008, claiming that his 2005 Scion accelerated uncontrollably and only stopped when he hit a tree.

This is the first unintended acceleration case to reach trial after Toyota recalled millions of vehicles in 2009 to fix the unintended acceleration. Sitafalwalla’s case goes to trial in Central Islip, Long Island later this month.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Report: Jury selection underway for Toyota unintended acceleration case originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Renault admits wrongful termination in espionage case

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Renault

Paris prosecutor Jean Claude Marin charges Renault employee

Renault says it wrongfully fired three of its executives, Michael Balthazard, Bertrand Rochette and Matthieu Tenenbaum, on suspicion of industrial espionage. The admission comes after French authorities looked into the company’s dismissal of the men and determined that Renault’s accusations against them were baseless.

Now, Renault has the embarrassing task of meeting with the execs and figuring out a way to compensate them for the loss of their jobs and the scrutiny that comes with this kind of accusation. Renault originally claimed that the execs had satellite bank accounts in Switzerland and Lichtenstein where they hid funds for spying.

Renault says it’s now looking at another employee as a possible spying suspect. Renault is also imposing sanctions against those who were involved in the original terminations, including Dominique Gevrey, the head of security who led the original investigation. Gevrey has been charged by French authorities, led by Paris prosecutor Jean Claude Marin (above) with organized fraud for his hand in the firings. Thanks for the tip, Jason!

[Source: Financial Times via Business Week | Image: Christophe Ena/AP]

Report: Renault admits wrongful termination in espionage case originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China denies involvement in Renault EV spy case; over $841k found in secret bank accounts?

Renault’s zero-emissions lineup

The industrial espionage case involving three top Renault execs and electric vehicle secrets (and maybe China) continues, as the French carmaker has officially filed an accusation against a foreign private company. The company involved was not made public, but the filing does not cite a foreign power, according to Jean-Claude Marin, a Paris prosecutor, in Reuters. In fact, the French government began stepping away from rumors that China is involved with this industrial espionage case. Even still, a member of the conservative UMP party told France-Info radio that, “There are in effect several sources that are typically thought to be serious who consider that a Chinese buyer is in fact behind this operation.” That buyer might be a Chinese power company, which French newspaper Le Figaro reported laundered at least 630,000 Euros (around $841,800 U.S.) into bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein opened by the executives. For its part, China has denied any involvement.

Prosecutor Marin must now make a decision to either oversee his own investigation or to open a judicial inquiry that will go before an independent magistrate. The French intelligence service, Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur (DCRI), has also been looking into the case.

We still don’t know the details of what was allegedly stolen, but Renault Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata tells Reuters that the company’s key technology for electric vehicles is still safe. Nissan executive Carlos Tavares said he “completely trusts” Renault in handling the matter. The Renault-Nissan alliance has invested 4 billion euros ($5.17 billion) in electric vehicles.

The three senior Renault executives who have been suspended are denying their guilt. A lawyer for the highest-ranking of the three defendants notes, “He’s shocked by it, let’s be clear about it… He’s going to clear his name.” Another described his suspension as Kafkaesque, and that the men are reportedly still trying to figure out what they are being accused of. So are we.

[Sources: Reuters, Independent, Economic Times, The Wall Street Journal, Plug In Cars]

China denies involvement in Renault EV spy case; over $841k found in secret bank accounts? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Resinating the Essential: Infiniti offering limited-edition sculpture with Louis Vuitton case

Filed under: Concept Cars, Etc., Infiniti, Design/Style

Infiniti Essence sculpture – Click above for high-res images

Rolling sculpture is how you might describe the Infiniti Essence show car. When it was unveiled in Geneva last year it stole the show, and now the Japanese luxury marque is following up with a limited-edition sculpture of the car itself.

Crafted from resin by the same creative minds behind the Essence concept, the Essence sculpture will only be produced in a limited run of 300 examples, each fetching $300. The sculpture is transported and presented in a special case hand-crafted by Louis Vuitton, the luxury goods workshop that made the custom-fitted luggage for the concept car.

The sculpture will debut at the upcoming LA Auto Show before going on sale at infinitilifestyle.com in December, but you can get a closer look now by clicking the thumbnails below and following the jump for the full press release.

Gallery: Infiniti Essence sculpture

[Source: Infiniti]

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Resinating the Essential: Infiniti offering limited-edition sculpture with Louis Vuitton case originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Followup: Motorcyclist wins taping case against Maryland state police

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Motorcycle

Anthony Graber meets the Maryland State Police – Click above to watch video after the jump

Score one for the good guys. Not that we think police in general are bad guys or anything, but after watching this video of a Maryland state trooper jumping out of his unmarked car in plain clothes while brandishing a gun, we’re not exactly keen to put him in the good guy category, either.

In any case, Anthony Graber, a man who was out shooting video of his (not exactly completely legal) motorcycling exploits when he was confronted by the aforementioned officer, was charged with felony wiretapping for recording the state trooper’s actions when being pulled over.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Judge Emory A. Pitt Jr. has thrown out the wiretapping charge, leaving Graber only to answer for his traffic violations. Why? Common sense, it would seem, has prevailed. The judge ruled that police officers shouldn’t have an expectation of privacy when engaged in a traffic stop. He said, in part:

Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public. When we exercise that power in public fora, we should not expect our actions to be shielded from public observation.

Reacquaint yourself with the completely legal video after the break. Hat tips to Jason and Tom!

[Sources: Baltimore Sun, Slashdot]

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Followup: Motorcyclist wins taping case against Maryland state police originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford’s Mulally: “We cannot make a business case” for composites

Filed under: Technology, Ford

Mike Rowe and Alan Mulally in New York

There’s been plenty of talk about carmakers moving to lighter materials like carbon fiber to reduce weight, improve fuel economy and enhance the driving experience. Two years ago, Honda and Nissan formed a consortium to research the mass-market implementation of carbon fiber. Last year, BMW launched its own joint venture to do the same. Lamborghini joined the party when it opened its own CF research center earlier this year. In practice, though, use of composites for large panels is still limited to spendier offerings like the BMW M3, Audi R8 V10 Spyder and the exotic classes.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally gives a reason for that. “We cannot make a business case for composites in the auto industry,” he says, citing the work left to be done on producing better steel and alloys. Mulally adds that getting enough composites to meet a volume maker’s needs and the sheer cost of production nixes the prospect for now. Instead, thermosetting plastics – different than thermoplastics – are a solution more near-at-hand.

Photo Copyright (C)2010 Alex Núñez /AOL
[Source: Dow Jones]

Ford’s Mulally: “We cannot make a business case” for composites originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford settles $131m Explorer rollover case

Filed under: SUV, Government/Legal, Safety, Ford

2001 Ford Explorer gravel road

Ford’s second-generation Explorer has just cost the company $131 million. Despite the popularity of the seminal SUV, it’s had more than its fair share of legal scrapes regarding its rollover resistance. And while the Explorer/Firestone tire kerfuffle has long since exited the headlines, the Blue Oval continues to get its pocketbook dinged by the SUV. According to Autoblog sister site AOL Autos, this week, a jury in Jackson, Mississippi was to decide on possible punitive damages in the lawsuit over the death of Brian Cole, a promising baseball player headed for the New York Mets. Ford settled with the family over the matter of the 2001 rollover accident after a jury awarded $131 million in damages. Punitive damages were the next decision the jury was to consider before Ford settled.

Ford apparently disagrees with the blame placed on its vehicle, saying that the 22-year-old Cole was speeding and not wearing a seatbelt. Cole died from injuries sustained after being ejected from his Explorer during a rollover accident on a Florida highway. His cousin, Ryan Cole, survived the accident, which Ford attributes to the use of a seatbelt and the Explorer’s crash performance. While a settlement can be taken as a de facto acknowledgement of the Cole family’s claims that the Explorer is inherently unstable and its safety belts can fail in rollovers, the automaker maintains that it didn’t receive a fair trial, and settled to bring closure to the issue.

[Source: AOL Autos]

Ford settles $131m Explorer rollover case originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota subpoenas Camry in Lee acquittal case

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Government/Legal, Toyota

Koua Fong Lee

Koua Fong Lee can’t seem to catch a break. Lee was convicted of killing three people in 2006 when his Toyota Camry struck a vehicle at a stoplight, but he was later freed after prosecutors discovered that Lee may have been a victim of unintended acceleration. He served two and a half years in prison while the justice system ground along, and now Toyota has subpoenaed his 1996 Camry. The manufacturer wants Lee to turn the car over for an examination on the quick. Unfortunately, Lee no longer has the car. It’s been locked up in the custody of the St. Paul Police Department since the 2006 accident.

With Lee’s name clear, a total of four federal lawsuits have been filed against Toyota by the family members of those killed in the accident. Each claims that Toyota knew of the unintended acceleration issue well before the Lee accident and failed to follow up on those reports in any substantial way. Meanwhile, Toyota claims that the accident wasn’t due to unintended acceleration. You can see the conundrum here. If Toyota proves that the accident wasn’t the result of unintended acceleration, then it may be the case that Lee was at fault.

Lee’s lawyer has expressed obvious concern over allowing Toyota to examine the vehicle unsupervised. So for now, it remains in St. Paul PD custody.

[Source: The Pioneer Press | Image: Ben Garvin, AP Photo/Pioneer Press]

Report: Toyota subpoenas Camry in Lee acquittal case originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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