The LA Times reports that “more than 100 suits seeking class-action status, as well as at least 50 personal injury cases” against Toyota have been consolidated to a single courtroom, under the jurisdiction of U.S. District Judge James Selna. According to Reuters, the ruling by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation did state that:
We are initially persuaded that the centralized proceedings should eventually include the related personal injury and wrongful death actions
The WSJ [sub] describes Selna’s experience in these matters:
His record includes complex corporate cases. Judge Selna presided over a long-running patent infringement case between chipmakers Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Corp., ruling in 2008 that Qualcomm had violated an injunction by selling and offering to sell chips containing Broadcom’s patented technologies and failing to pay royalties.
He presided over a case seeking class action status brought by a laptop computer buyer against eMachines, asserting false advertising and other violations of state consumer protection laws. The judge carefully parsed his rulings, finding only some of the claims were actionable.
“Describing a product as ‘quality’ or as having ‘high performance criteria’ are the types of subjective characterizations that Illinois courts have repeatedly held to be mere puffing,” he said in dismissing one of the claims in November 2005.
Whatever the outcome I rest assured that even if defects are proven to have caused actual harm to one or more consumers that the legal system designed to maximize the wealth of those using that system for their income will ensure the lawyers involved will receive HUGE monetary sums while a pittance is received by those suffering the harm.
It is the American way and our class-based system and entrenched power structures will have it no other way.
In this case, however, the government witchhunt is just as big a piece as the ambulance-chasers.
I hope “Breker” is a play on words, like maybe they are in front of Breker Toyota? Oy………….
I’m sure that’s what it is. Did you know that the name of the dealer’s general manager is “Morans”? See here:
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/n/U/moran.jpg
If only, if only…
A new CVS was being built near me and they had the nerve to NOT hire overpriced Union workers for the construction. They had the same giant rat inflated on the site. Must be standard fare for the UAW and friends.
Speaks volumes about their leadership.
For sake of argument lets just say CVS didn’t give a shit and had police remove the union and their giant leader, er I mean inflated rat.
Hurray for the police! Brave members of the PBA, one of the most powerful unions in the country, out kicking lowly construction worker union ass.
Is the misspelling of “Breaker” as “Breker” a result of sleeping in continuing-ed class, an attempt at sympathy, or an unintended consequence of the “Deutscherechtschreibreform”?