Toyota Settlement: TM to Pay $1.2B in Criminal Probe

by Christopher Freeburn | March 19, 2014 10:29 am

Toyota (TM[1]) will admit misleading consumers about problems with unintended acceleration in its vehicles as part of a settlement with U.S. regulators[2].

Under the Toyota settlement, the Japanese auto giant will pay $1.2 billion and have an independent monitor appointed to review its internal practices. The Toyota settlement will bring to an end a four-year criminal probe into the way the automaker handled reports of unintended vehicle acceleration and how it disclosed the problems to regulatory agencies, the Associated Press notes.

Toyota has recalled more than 10 million vehicles since 2009 to correct issues linked to the problem. Prior to the Toyota settlement, the company had already paid $66 million in U.S. fines due to tardy disclosure of the problems to regulators.

The Toyota settlement with regulators comes after the automaker settled a number of unintended acceleration lawsuits for $1 billion last year. The company had won all lawsuits over unintended acceleration that made it to court until December, when a jury in Oklahoma awarded $3 million in damages to the victims of an accident involving a 2005 Camry.

Toyota is still facing lawsuits over deaths and injuries attributed to the problem.

TM stock fell modestly in Wednesday morning trading. TM stock has gained about 6% over the past year.

More Auto News:

• Winter Weather Dents GM, Ford Auto Sales[4]
• F Stock – Ford Focus Is Best-Selling Car in the World[5]
• Is General Motors a ‘Dividend Stock’?[6]

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2014/03/toyota-settlement-tm-pay-1-2b-criminal-probe/

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