Toyota Motor Corp. won dismissal of the first sudden acceleration lawsuit set for trial in California in 2013 because a federal judge determined it should have been filed in state court in Utah.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, recalled at least 8 million U.S. vehicles starting in 2009, after claims of defects and incidents involving sudden unintended acceleration. The recalls set off hundreds of economic-loss suits and claims of injuries and deaths. The first test case was set for trial in February 2013.
U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana, California, dismissed on Thursday that first bellwether case, brought by the families of two people killed in a crash in Utah in 2010, finding a federal warranty claim in the lawsuit failed to meet a required $50,000 threshold for damages. The plaintiffs couldn't count potential personal injury or punitive damages to reach this requirement, under federal law, Selna said.