"It is therefore ordered that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, the actions listed on Schedule A and pending outside the Central District of California are transferred to the Central District of California and, with the consent of that court, assigned to the Honorable James V. Selna for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings," the panel dictated.
"It is further ordered that this litigation is renamed “In re: Toyota Motor Corp. Unintended Acceleration Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation.”
Selna, a 28 years veteran of private law practice, will have a hard time ahead, as some two hundred suits have been filed in the Toyota Recall Litigation in both federal and state courts throughout the country.
The decision made over the weekend comes as a result of the March 25 hearing in San Diego, where 25 different lawyers advocating 19 different potential jurisdictions attended a hearing. Toyota itself asked the cases be sent and consolidated in the Central District of California.
"The parties have suggested a number of very acceptable transferee districts and judges. However, for the following reasons, we have settled upon the Central District of California as the most appropriate choice. Toyota maintains its United States corporate headquarters within this district, and relevant documents and witnesses are likely located there. "
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