BUSINESS BRIEF

Toyota will enter talks on nearly 400 lawsuits

12/14/2013

SANTA ANA, Calif. — After a four-year legal battle, Toyota Motor Co. is entering settlement talks on nearly 400 state and federal lawsuits that allege sudden unintended acceleration problems with its vehicles led to deaths and injuries.

Joint motions filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana and Los Angeles County Superior Court indicated both sides would begin an “intensive settlement process” next month.

The Japanese automaker, which has recalled millions of cars since 2009 over the acceleration issue, agreed to the negotiations to make resolving the cases more efficient, a Toyota spokesman said Friday.

Cases that don’t settle after a two-stage mediation process will go back to court for trial, said plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel Mark Robinson, Jr., but most of the 375 claims will likely get resolved.