LOS ANGELES (Bloomberg) -- Forty Toyota Motor Corp. lawsuits over alleged sudden acceleration pending in California state court were ordered coordinated before one judge in Los Angeles.
California Chief Justice Ronald M. George in an order Wednesday asked the presiding judge of the Los Angeles court to assign the cases. George said it will be up to the coordinating trial judge to decide whether the cases seeking damages for personal injury or wrongful death should be managed separately from class-action suits alleging economic loss.
Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, faces more than 300 lawsuits in state and federal Court over alleged sudden acceleration of its vehicles. The California state court cases include a class-action lawsuit brought by the Orange County District Attorney and a lawsuit by the family of a Highway Patrol officer who died in a crash.
Celeste Migliore, a spokeswoman for Toyota Motor Sales USA in Torrance, Calif., didn’t immediately return a call to her office.
