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Toyota Motor Corporation received a defense verdict in the United States District Court, District of South Carolina, Aiken Division case of Quinton v. Toyota, et al. on Friday, June 21, 2013. Following two weeks of trial and four hours of deliberation, the jury returned their verdict in favor of the defendants. Plaintiff had asked for $5 million.
This case involved a fatality following a rollover event in a 2009 Toyota Camry and was based on an alleged manufacturing defect in the Camry's driver's side Curtain Shield Airbag (CSA). While plaintiff claimed that a hole was created during the manufacture of the CSA, the defendants demonstrated that the hole found in the airbag post-accident was created during this severe four-roll rollover event as the bag was constrained and over-pressurized. In addition, the Defendants presented evidence of the Quality Assurance/Quality Control procedures followed at the non-party manufacturers.
Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc., Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc., and Toyoda Gosei North America Corporation, Civil Action No.: 1-10-cv-02187-JMC.
Plaintiff presented the following experts: Ron Kirk (accident reconstruction), Robert Bowser (airbag design), Richard Edwards (materials science), and Joe Burton (biomechanics).
Defendants presented the following experts: Geoff Germane (accident reconstruction), Bob Gratzinger (roof structure), Mike Klima (airbag design), Karen Balavich (airbag/materials science), and Catherine Corrigan (biomechanics).
Plaintiff was represented by Graham Esdale and Cole Portis of Beasley Allen, Allen Clardy of The Clardy Law Firm, and Bill Hopkins of Hopkins Law Firm.
Defendants were represented by Bard Borkon, Dick Willis, and Angela Strickland of Bowman and Brooke LLP.