Jalopnik: Lawsuit

Family of woman crushed by monster truck outside strip club sue everyone

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EDT

The family of the 23-year-old woman crushed and killed by a drunk driver in a monster truck outside of a Dallas strip club last month is suing the cage fight-managing truck's owner, the driver, the strip club's managers, and the strip club itself over the death. More »

Tesla sues Top Gear over "rigged" electric car test

Justin Hyde — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EDT

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Remember that time Top Gear gave the Tesla Roadster such a thrashing it broke, except it really didn't break? Tesla does, and it's now filed suit against the BBC and Top Gear accusing the Beeb of defamation. UPDATE More »

Family Of Tesla Plane Crash Victim Sues Pilot

Justin Hyde — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EDT

The family of one victim in the February plane crash killing three Tesla employees has sued the estate of the pilot/co-worker. [SF Chronicle] More »

For $22,500, Get a Candy Ass-Approved Faux-rrari

graverobber — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Some say that it is cursed, that it caused a business to fail, and proved too controversial even for eBay. But now, in an exclusive engagement on Nice Price or Crack Pipe, comes. . . the Delirious 250 GT-Faux. More »

This Man Fought Toyota For Stealing His Hybrid Tech And Won

Sam Smith — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:35:00 EDT

Alex Severinsky, a Soviet emigrant who began his career developing antitank-warfare instrumentation, patented a system for powering gas-electric hybrids in 1994. Toyota used his system for the Prius without permission or payment. Until this week. More »

This Is The Lawsuit Attempting To Bring Indian Diesel Pickups To America

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Indian automaker Mahindra promised America a small diesel pickup, but there have been numerous delays. Now U.S. distributor Global Motors is suing the company to make them stop dragging their feet and start building it. Here's the full thing. More »

Your GM Pickup Could Explode And Kill You

Myron Levin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:20:00 EDT

Over nine million General Motors pickup trucks built in the '70s and '80s have a tendency to explode in otherwise non-fatal accidents. This is FairWarning.org's detailed look at how an added "feature" made those trucks deadly. —Ed. More »

Greedy Hedge Fund Managers Suing Porsche For $1 Billion

Wes Siler — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST

Reason number one why the ‘10s are worse than the ‘80s: greedy hedge fund managers are suing Porsche not because they drove backwards into a tree, but because the company's surprise takeover of VW caught them with their pants down. More »

Shelby Sued, $20K GT500KR Hoods Really Only Cost $4K

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST

Shelby's latest lawsuit, involving the supplier of $20,000 GT500KR carbon fiber hoods, makes us wonder if expected legal fees are included in their prices. The original cost of those carbon fiber hoods? $4,000. Now that's one serious up-charge. More »

Former Toyota Attorney Claims "Ruthless Conspiracy" To Hide Vehicle Shortcomings

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EDT

Dimitrios Biller, a former Toyota attorney, has filed a suit against the automaker claiming they illegally withheld/destroyed information about vehicle problems and fired him for wanting to speak out. Toyota wants the suit sealed because of lawyer confidentiality. [CBS News] More »

Yamaha Wins First Rhino Rollover Lawsuit

Wes Siler — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:30:00 EDT

ATVs are dangerous. Especially if you're not wearing a helmet and seatbelt while operating them. A bunch of people weren't smart enough to figure that out and sued Yamaha for negligence. Yamaha just won the first case. More »

Rolls-Royce Plans Doomed Lawsuit Over Chinese Clone

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EDT

Rolls-Royce is contemplating a lawsuit over the Geely GE, which debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show and looks conspicuously like a Rolls-Royce Phantom. This case has a lot of merit... anywhere but China. More »

Lamborghini Orange County Owner To Plead Guilty On Fraud Charges

The Auto Insider — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:30:00 EDT

We reported in January Lamborghini Orange County's owner, Vik Keuylian, was wanted for defrauding Volkswagen Credit Inc. for $12 Million. He has agreed to plead guilty, potentially landing him in jail for 30 years. More »

Shelby Suing Factory Five, Fan Forum For Trademark Infringements

Wes Siler — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST

Carroll Shelby is suing long-standing Shelby Cobra and Daytona Coupe-replica kit car maker Factory Five, an associated fan forum and a California-based builder for trademark infringement of names and vehicles. A fan forum? Yup. More »

VW Accuses Lamborghini Of Orange County Of Stealing $12 Million

The Auto Insider — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:45:00 EST

Fargo, the Coen brother's 1996 cult-film, was an outrageous tale of an embezzling car salesman and his plot to kidnap his wife. The owners of Lamborghini of Orange County have the embezzling part down. More »

GM Sues Camaro Supplier, Claims Cadence "Holding Hostage" Interior Equipment Necessary For Launch

Wes Siler — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:45:00 EST

Liquidation of now-bankrupt Camaro parts supplier Cadence could delay 2010 Chevy Camaro production, costing GM millions of dollars and delaying a crucial new model. So GM plans to sue them. More »

Tesla Sues Fisker Designers In World's Most Expensive Girl Fight

Travis Hudson — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Tesla Motors, the manufacturer of the Tesla Roadster, has filed suit against Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler (yes that Fisker) claiming the duo stole confidential design information and trade secrets while working for Tesla. We're not trying to pick sides around these parts, but the Tesla claims make some sense. More »

Carroll Shelby Sues Shelby Owners Club

Wes Siler — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:50:00 EST

Carroll Shelby is suing the Shelby American Automobile Club in an attempt to force it to stop using his name and likeness. The for-profit club is required to involve Shelby in marketing campaigns and provide him with financial statements under the terms of their licensing agreement. Shelby claims they've failed to do so. Shelby is also demanding that the club turn over its records of Shelby vehicles and their authenticity, something the club claims it'll refuse to do even if they lose the lawsuit. Shelby claims the club has made large some of money, but "never counted me in on anything." The club refutes this claim, stating it "pays for itself. There is no money left over. We have put a lot of hard work into this club." [Source: Automotive News] More »

Governator and California Sue EPA Over Car Emissions

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:30:00 EST

Things are about to get exciting if you love hot, government-on-government litigious action. The State of California today sued the Environmental Protection Agency in order to get permission to impose stricter auto emissions standards. This all goes back to a law passed in California two years ago that would require 2009 models to meet higher guidelines, which has yet to get an enforcement waiver from the EPA. If they're denied, Governor Schwarzenegger told reporters "We sue again, and sue again and sue again until we get it," thus setting himself up for countless "I'll be back" jokes. We can't imagine any reason the Bush administration would want to stall this law... Full press release from the Governator's Office below the jump. More »

Nissan Sued For Fire Death in Street Racing Accident

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:00:00 EST

A lawsuit filed against those responsible for injury or death in a street racing accident isn't unheard of as negligence is usually involved, but there's a new twist to a lawsuit filed today in El Monte, California. In addition to naming the two racers, the $100 million lawsuit also includes Nissan Motor Company. The accident involved a Ford F-150 and Mustang that broadsided a Nissan Altima, causing the car to burst into flames, which is where this gets all litigious. Details after the jump... More »

Note To Californians: Don't Try To Save People

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EDT

A ruling by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles indicated that the state's Good Samaritan law only protects people from liability if they are giving emergency medical care. But according to the court, removing someone from a wrecked car is not considered to be emergency medical care... This all stems from a lawsuit filed by a woman who is suing the person that pulled her out of her wrecked car "like a rag doll," which may have led to her becoming a paraplegic (though the crash couldn't have helped). There are two lessons here: Don't move someone unless you're trained or the person is imminent danger. Have someone sign a release form before you help them. – Matt Hardigree More »

Toyota Sex Scandal Still Burning? ToMoCo Senior Veep Dennis Cuneo Departs Automaker For Greener Pastures

Ray Wert — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:42:55 EDT

Dennis Cuneo, the 55-year-old Senior veep of ToMoCo NorAm, has made the "decision" to "leave the company" after a 22-year stretch with the #1 super best automaker from the land of the rising sun. Cuneo will be heading back to the Washington DC law firm of Arent, Fox — but will still be working to advise ToMoCo on manufacturing site selection. So why's Cuneo going back to his old law firm to basically be paid by Toyota to continue doing his job, but from outside the company? Well, none of the industry press folks seem willing to speculate, but we'll put it to you this way — when Automotive News finished reporting the above facts, they immediately dropped the following paragraph into their three-paragraph article: More »

Sue You, Bitches! California Takes Six Automakers To Court Over Greenhouse Gases

Ray Wert — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:26:23 EDT

California's Attorney General, Bill "Sue First, Sue Second, Sue Later" Lockyer filed a lawsuit today against a group of automakers he's calling "The Big Six" — General Motors, Toyota, Ford, DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group, Honda NorAm and Nissan NorAm — in an effort to "hold manufacturers liable for the damages caused by greenhouse gases that their products emit...and the adverse impacts on California." We're also hearing Bill "Trial Lawyer" Lockyer next plans on suing Joe Rogan for polluting reality television, Microsoft for polluting computers with software making them go slower and lastly, he'll be going after the world's dolphins for pooping in our tuna. Full press release after the jump. More »

Jim Press-ing On After Toyota Sex Scandal

Ray Wert — Thu, 11 May 2006 20:10:47 EDT

We think it was ironic Jim Press, the newly minted President and Chief Executive of Toyota Motor North America, was scheduled to speak at today's Inforum luncheon at the Atheneum Hotel in Detroit. Especially because the only reason he was speaking as Prez rather than as President of Toyota Motor Sales USA was because of the alleged dalliances of the previous Chief Executive. We're of course talking about Hideaki Otaka, alleged to have made repeated, unwanted Clinton-esque advances against his former executive assistant, Sayaka Kobayashi. Kobayashi has dropped a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court for $40 million in damages. Sounds to us like Mr. Press had a pretty tight rope to tread this afternoon. Why such a tight rope? Well, the old name for Inforum was the Womens Economic Club of Metro Detroit. Lucky for Mr. Press, he seems to have done pretty well — hit the jump if you'd like the full remarks. More »

Toyota's Otaka Is Totally Feeling It

Ray Wert — Thu, 04 May 2006 18:45:00 EDT

Sorry for not being "on top" of this one already. And by "on top" of this one we mean...ahem. Right. Well, Toyota's North American CEO is totally alleged of "feeling it" in recent court documents filed in New York State Court. And by "feeling it" we mean of course, his hand feeling her...ahem. Right. Well, the lawsuit was filed by Sayaka Kobayashi, a personal assistant to Toyota's NorAm CEO Hideaki "Harry" Otaka. And by "Harry" we mean...ahem. Right. Well, the suit's asking for $190 million and before we get into any trouble of our own, let's just throw you a toss to the article below. And by "toss"... More »

Dirty, Dirty War: Ford Sued for Kidnapping, Torture in Argentina

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 03:57:11 EST

A story that rivals papa Henry's Nazi medal for Things Ford Most Wants to Forget has surfaced once again. A group of former union organizers in Argentina has filed a civil suit against FoMoCo and its Argentine subsidiary claiming the men were kidnapped and tortured inside the company's plant in the dawning years of that country's military dictatorship and subsequent "Dirty War" of 1976-1983. The workers, who had filed a similar criminal suit against Ford Argentina in 2003, claim they were beaten, tortured by electric shocks and subjected to mind-fuck techniques favored by the junta of the time. (To be fair, Ford's not the only company who has faced such charges; Mercedes Benz's Argentine affiliate was accused of the same kind of anti-union violence.) See kids, those unaware of history are doomed to repeat it — and that doesn't just apply to the 1977 Pinto Cruising Wagon. More »

Pre-owned Honda Civic Owner v. State Farm: All Rise, Court Is Now in Session

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 09:32:19 EST

For a wronged consumer, facing down insurance companies (motto: what we don't own, you don't freaking need) in court is daunting. But the fear of a flannel-suited squadron of lawyers isn't stopping one guy from attempting to wring satisfaction out of State Farm. It seems the man bought a certified pre-owned Honda Civic whose pre-ownership, the man later discovered, included being totaled and sold as salvage back into the market. At auction, State Farm had left off the car's salvage history — along with those of 30,000 other wrecks — an incident that ended in a cash settlement with the State of Pennsylvania. That settlement provided the Civic owner with $2700 to offset the loss in value of his (now valueless) $14,000 Civic. Nice try, State Farm. See you in court. And you can have your keychain back thank you very much. More »

Bridgestone Pays Out $240 Million in Settlement with Ford

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 07:38:53 EDT

The hoard of liability lawyers representing two giant companies can finally relax, grab a smoke or maybe take in an afternoon on the back nine. Bridgestone Corp. yesterday announced it was paying FoMoCo $240 million in a settlement related to Ford's wide recall of Firestone tires in 2000 and 2001, back when the words "tread separation" really meant something. Four years ago, Ford replaced millions of Firestones — the failure of which was cited by the Feds in rollover accidents linked to numerous deaths and injuries — at a cost of $3 billion. The tires had been original equipment on its Explorer SUV. Ford and Bridgestone never saw eye-to-eye on the cause of the tire failure, Bridgestone saying Ford set the inflation too low to make up for a center-of-gravity deficiency, and Ford blaming the problem on poor quality at Bridgestone plants. More »

Tom Waits Sues GM over Soundalike

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 17:27:21 EDT

We had a "Diamonds on my Windshield" joke all cued up, but we somehow lost the thread when the UPS guy hit the bell. No matter, it was probably less funny than hearing that Tom Waits number sung in Norwegian. What are we on about? Waits is suing General Motors's Opel division and ad agency McCann Erickson for running a series of car commercials in which an impersonator copies Waits's gravelly vocals. Waits had previously refused to participate in the campaign, which was broadcast in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. GM, saying it didn't knowingly seek out Waits for the ads, is passing the buck to McCann, which produced the ads in Germany. Waits, who happened to be cruising down the boulevard looking for the heart of Saturday night, was unavailable for comment. [Update: Big Rick Stuart has the full quote from Tom about his involvement in the suit. Classic Waits poetics after the jump.] More »