-Toyota agreed on Friday to a settlement with the families of two women in a fatal crash the morning after an Oklahoma jury became the first to find the company responsible for the unintended acceleration of a car.
-The verdict came after Toyota had won its first three trials over the acceleration issue. Legal analysts said it could embolden plaintiffs in hundreds of other lawsuits that have been filed against the automaker.
-The case is also significant because it is a verdict in a jurisdiction considered to be conservative, and the amount of compensation awarded is substantial, he said.
-“This loss coupled with ongoing negative publicity may well have a far more substantial impact on the Toyota brand that should be of much greater concern to the automaker,” Mr. Lebovits said.
