According to Reuters, the judge decided that owners who have filed suits can recover any compensation awarded under the lawsuit for lost resale value. The decision applies to Toyota owners who file lawsuits regardless whether they've experienced or not unintended acceleration.
The carmaker responded to the ruling by issuing a statement in which it says the decision was made without taking into consideration the evidence and failed to address the merits of the allegations.
“This lawsuit is based on a wholly unsubstantiated claim that there is a defect in Toyota’s Electronic Throttle Control System that causes unintended acceleration,” the carmaker says in the statement.
“But even after months of intense publicity and multiple investigations, the plaintiffs have neither cited nor identified any specific defect in Toyota’s Electronic Throttle Control System and no credible scientific theory or proof has been advanced to support the allegations in their consolidated complaint."
The judge on the other hand says that the plaintiffs have no need to identify and point to a defect in the Electronic Throttle Control System to support their claims.
"At this early stage, this analysis by the Court requires a basic assumption that the plaintiffs' allegations are true, even though they are unproven," added the Japanese carmaker, saying that it is confident evidence will prove the allegations are untrue.
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