Legal News for Securities Fraud Attorneys. A class-action suit was filed on behalf of shareholders who purchased Toyota stocks from Dec. 22, 2009 to Feb. 2, 2010.
Class action suit filed in connection with securities fraud, alleged by Toyota shareholders.
Washington, DC—Japanese auto-giant Toyota Motor Corp. was plagued with at least three additional class-action lawsuits within the last few weeks, all of which were prompted by alleged securities violations. Shareholders who purchased stock from Toyota between December 22, 2009 and February 2, 2010, are allegedly being represented by one law firm, which filed a class-action suit in U.S. District Court in California, according to information provided by the Detroit News.
The lawsuit reportedly contends Toyota administered “materially false and misleading statements” and “failed to disclose ongoing safety issues and quality control problems with Toyota’s automobiles, especially the fact that accelerator pedals installed in many of Toyota’s cars were defective and could become stuck in the depressed position, leading to unintended acceleration.”
Reports also noted that when Toyota announced its recall of 2.3 million vehicles due to defective accelerator pedals on January 21, 2010, shares immediately rose to $90.42. Since that day, Toyota’s market capitalization has apparently plunged by $15 billion. Over 3,300 complaints of defective Toyota vehicles were reported to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The world’s largest automaker also faces allegations that malfunctioning accelerator pedals caused 51 people to suffer fatal crash-related injuries.
While the shareholder lawsuits may appear to be reasonable, based on the simple fact that Toyota has recalled approximately 8.5 billion vehicles throughout the world, Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning, seems to disagree. With regards to the recent securities cases, Henning reportedly stated, “You are going to have to prove knowledge among the corporate management… Unless something else emerges, it seems that Toyota didn’t think that it would be the kind of problem that it turned out to be”. Toyota did not make any comments regarding the pending litigation.
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan- Legal News for Securities Fraud Lawyers.