Toyota Trial of Acceleration-Linked Deaths Opens Wednesday (TM)

Opening statements in

's

trial involving acceleration-linked deaths could start as early as Wednesday,

. Bloomberg reported that about 85 personal-injury and wrongful-death acceleration cases have been consolidated in California state court in Los Angeles. The suit being tried, per the report, involves the death of Noriko Uno. According to the report, Uno's family claims her vehicle was struck by another that ran a stop sign. They allege her foot became stuck between the accelerator and brake pedal. She unsuccessfully attempted to brake with her left foot before ultimately crashing 30 seconds later, the family believes. Had Toyota installed a brake override system on this model, the vehicle would have stopped when both the accelerator and brake pedal were pressed, her family alleges. Toyota has countered it was impossible for Uno's foot to be stuck that long and believes her death was due to driver error. Regardless, Toyota settled a case involving economic-loss allegations related to unintended acceleration after recalling over 10 million vehicles worldwide in 2009 and 2010. It also paid $10 million to settle a case involving the death of a California Highway Patrol officer and several family members after police concluded an incorrectly installed, incompatible floor mat trapped the accelerator and forced the crash. It stands to reason both will negatively impact Toyota's prospects in the current case, given the alleged problem has already been clearly demonstrated. Related:

However, according to the story, Toyota won a 2011 trial brought by a Long Island doctor who blamed sudden acceleration for his crash, so this case is no slam dunk. Related:

Importantly, California routinely ranks among the worst states for businesses to be sued. In 2007,

for businesses to be sued in. It cited “unpredictable juries, excessive punitive damages and a slow summary judgment process” as the main culprits. More recently (in 2012), the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR), via a Harris Interactive survey, ranked The Golden State's lawsuit climate as

. And, the city the trial will be held in – Los Angeles – was ranked second-worst in the entire United States. The ILR noted that “Plaintiffs' lawyers bring cases in California because the state's courts rubber-stamp class actions and juries award outsized paydays.” With its legal history on the unintended acceleration issue and California's anti-business lawsuit climate, Toyota appears to have a major battle on its hands. Unless it can prove Uno was at fault for the crash, look for a significant payout courtesy of Toyota's coffers.