Chesley Files Amended Class Action in Ohio Against Toyota

CINCINNATI, Feb. 5, 2010 -- Stanley M. Chesley from the Cincinnati, Ohio-based law firm of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley Co., L.P.A. today amended a major class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corp. and other Toyota affiliates. The case is based on the sudden acceleration defect in millions of Toyota automobiles that has caused injuries and deaths.

The amendment charges Toyota with knowledge of the problem and the alleged fix years before the recent recall. According to the new charges, in September 2006, Ernestine Montgomery's 2005 Camry accelerated without warning when her foot was on the brake, traveled over a sidewalk , and crashed into a the wall of a grocery store. A local Toyota dealer tried to repair the problem, in 2006 by installing a new accelerator pedal. When Ms. Montgomery was in for normal service in December 2009, the Service Manager told her she had the same accelerator pedal that Toyota currently is using to fix unintended acceleration. According to Chesley, "Ms. Montgomery's experience indicates that Toyota knew about acceleration problems in 2006 and failed to recall cars then."

The amendment was filed in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas in Cincinnati, Ohio. It alleges fraudulent concealment, breach of warranties, and breach of contracts. Chesley alleges that Toyota misrepresented the problem as being caused by floor mats and has still not corrected it. "Toyota has long known about the defect and has done too little, too late to correct it," says Mr. Chesley. "This problem is speeding out of control and Toyota is endangering the lives of innocent people."

The company has received numerous complaints of sudden, unintended acceleration. Many consumers are fearful of driving their cars. The cars have lost value due to this problem, creating an economic hardship for its customers in already tough economic times.

In addition to seeking compensatory and punitive damages, Chesley requested and obtained a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent Toyota's concealment or destruction of records based in part on an admission by a Toyota attorney that Toyota hid records in a number of cases involving injuries and deaths from rollovers. Chesley's co-counsel, Robert Steinberg, stated that their expert advised them Toyota failed to utilize fail safe mechanisms used by most manufacturers to prevent sudden acceleration.

Until the problem is completely fixed, Chesley says Toyota should compensate its customers, who now have to carry the burden of the lost value, by making their loan and lease payments.

For more than 40 years, Stanley M. Chesley and Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley Co., L.P.A. has represented individuals from across the United States in a variety of personal injury, breach of contract, fraud, and negligence claims, including complex product liability cases, toxic exposure, and dangerous prescription drugs. More on information on the firm is found at http://www.wsbclaw.com/.