Legal News - Toyota settles suit over high-profile Calif. crash

Legal News Journal

Legal News Home page Click here to add this website to your favorites
  rss
Bar News Search >>>

Toyota Motor Corp. has settled a lawsuit brought by relatives of four family members killed in a high-speed crash near San Diego that galvanized attention around safety flaws of Toyotas and led to the recalls of millions of cars.

A Toyota spokesman confirmed the settlement Saturday in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. It was first reported on the Los Angeles Times' Web site Friday night. The company would not specify the settlement's terms.

The Times said Toyota is expected to file motions with the judge disclosing the settlement on Monday. Court filings indicate the two parties reached a settlement in June.

Tim Pestotnik, an attorney for the plaintiffs including the parents of the three adult victims, declined comment when reached by the Times.

The settlement left out one co-defendant -- Bob Baker Lexus, the dealer that loaned the family the car.

"Toyota has sought to protect only its own interests. They decided to cut out their own dealer," Larry Willis, attorney for Bob Baker Lexus, told the Times. Willis said the lawsuit against the dealer had not been dropped.

California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor, 45, had borrowed the Toyota-made sedan from the dealer in August 2009.

He was killed along with his wife, Cleofe, 45, their daughter Mahala, 13, and Cleofe's brother Chris Lastrella, 39, as they drove on a freeway in suburban San Diego on Aug. 28. Their car reached speeds of more than 120 mph, hit a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames.


Breaking Legal News  |  Headline News  |  Law Center  |  Legal Business  |  Court News  |  Law Firm News  |  Legal Interviews |  Political and Legal
Practice Focuses  |  Legal Spotlight  |  Events & Seminars  |  Legal Marketing  |  Court Watch  |  Immigration  |  Press Releases
International  |  Politics  |  Justice Stories  |  Web Design for Law Firms  |  Celebrity Courthouse
Lawyer Website Design For Sole Practitioners
© The Legal News Journal. All rights reserved.