NEW ORLEANS – The owner of a Toyota Avalon is suing the car manufacturer over an accelerator defect that allegedly caused an accident.
Earl Thornton Jr. and Tarik Thornton filed a lawsuit on March 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Toyota Motor North America Inc., Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. and Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., citing breach of implied warranty, negligence, products liability and redhibition.
According to the complaint, 5.3 million vehicles have been recalled by Toyota for defects in accelerator pedals which can unexpectedly become stuck and cause the vehicle to uncontrollably accelerate. Thornton purchased a Toyota Avalon in February 2014 and claims that Thornton Jr. was operating the vehicle when it experienced the aforementioned unintended acceleration.
The plaintiffs claim that Thornton Jr. suffered an accident as a result of the vehicle defect, causing him to sideswipe a tree, collide with another vehicle and suffer personal injuries. The plaintiffs allege that the injuries directly result from the defendant’s negligence and breach of implied warranty, among other charges.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, restitution, disgorgement of profits, costs, attorneys’ fees and a trial by jury. They are represented by Salvadore Christina Jr. and Kevin K. Klibert of the Becnel Law Firm LLC in Reserve.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-01885-NJB-KWR