On November 5, 2010, Paul Van Alfen was killed when his 2008 Toyota Camry accelerated down a highway off-ramp and into a wall in Wendover, Utah. A passenger in the vehicle, Charlene Lloyd, died the following day. Soon thereafter, the family sued Toyota in federal court. The case, Van Alfen v. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. was expected to begin in 2013 and was set to be the bellwether case for how this Unintended Acceleration thing would shake out on the national stage.
Except now it won't.
Judge James Selna ruled yesterday that his court, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, lacked jurisdiction over the case (because plaintiffs were unable to reach the jurisdictional minimum of $50,000 in damages) and that it should be moved to the Utah state court.
"We are pleased that this jurisdictional issue has been resolved and that the Court agrees with Toyota that the proper forum for this case is Utah state court," said Toyota Spokeswoman Celeste Migliore.
It's another win for Toyota and a reminder that while it's not front-page news anymore, this issue isn't even close to over.
acbayard says:
08:49 PM, 09/30/11
Forum-shopping sometimes doesn't pay.
prajaniati says:
07:57 AM, 10/ 1/11
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firstwagon says:
09:58 AM, 10/ 1/11
It's been shown time and time again that even with the throttle wide open, the brakes can easily stop any modern car.
When will they stop trying to blame others for their mistakes?
(and I'm guessing the answer to my question will involve lawyers and huge sums of money)
ne1butu2 says:
08:16 PM, 10/ 1/11
Don't even try to sue Toyota. They're too big.
inlinesix says:
09:00 AM, 10/ 2/11
"Don't even try to sue Toyota. They're too big."
No dont be an idiot driver
roadburner says:
03:35 PM, 10/ 2/11
"dont be an idiot driver"
Exactly!
chochmastergen says:
11:34 AM, 10/ 3/11
Everyone commenting here seems to be very callous and arrogant. Just because a vehicle under WOT can be stopped by its brakes does not excuse a malfunction that caused the WOT. There could be other failures, or the brakes and/or tires could have been worn.
Its like saying that its been proven time and time again that taking anti-venom prevents dying from a snake bite. You wouldn't let someone for throwing a pile of snakes on you and handing you the antivenom after.
I also am glad that everyone here is so calm under pressure that they would immediately brake hard and shut the engine off. I'm all for drivers being competent, but you can't seriously throw all the blame on a driver for their vehicle malfunctioning and then crashing.
bimmerjay says:
12:35 PM, 10/ 3/11
"Just because a vehicle under WOT can be stopped by its brakes does not excuse a malfunction that caused the WOT."
Except the vehicles didn't malfunction. The WOT events were caused by driver error.
"There could be other failures, or the brakes and/or tires could have been worn."
In the Toyota cases no other mechanical failures (other than trapped floor mats) have been found, even the potentially slow-to-return pedals wouldn't cause sustained WOT. Worn tires and/or brakes are again completely the owner's fault for improper maintenance.
firstwagon says:
06:05 PM, 10/ 3/11
"Everyone commenting here seems to be very callous and arrogant. Just because a vehicle under WOT can be stopped by its brakes does not excuse a malfunction that caused the WOT. There could be other failures, or the brakes and/or tires could have been worn. "
What we are saying is the WOT didn't happen. At least not by the car. As I said (and many tests have shown) the car can easily be stopped by the brakes even with the throttle wide open. That means the driver either did not apply the brakes (unlikely) or was pressing on the gas instead of the brake.
It is not callous or arrogant to be tired of people blaming everything and everyone other then their selves for their mistakes.