The Cooper Firm

Approximately 89 class-action lawsuits have been filed against Toyota in connection with the massive recalls. Toyota owners are suing the manufacture claiming that the recalls have decreased the value of their vehicles, as evidenced by Kelly Blue Book’s decision to lower the resale value of Toyotas an average of 3.5 percent. In some of the lawsuits, Toyota owners seek additional damages because they're afraid to drive what they call "defective and dangerous" cars, while others claim insurance premiums will likely go up.

On March 25, 2010, Toyota will be appearing in San Diego before a panel of seven federal judges who will decide whether similar lawsuits filed in multiple federal districts should be centralized in one location for pretrial motions, hearings and the like. A federal judge would be chosen to determine whether the Toyota cases should be certified as a class action and make other key rulings, such as deciding on a likely Toyota motion to dismiss.

Under federal law, a class action must have 100 or more plaintiffs, damages sought must exceed $5 million and the judge must be persuaded the claims are identical or very similar. If not, each lawsuit would have to be pursued on its own.

One leading attorney in the class-action effort, Northeastern University law professor Tim Howard, said the number of owners claiming economic damages because of the recalls could reach 6 million. If each were awarded $500 — likely a conservative estimate — Toyota would have to fork over $3 billion in economic loss damages alone.