Toyota to face claims from owners after US court ruling

Toyota to face claims from owners after US court ruling

Toyota Motor car owners can pursue claims that the carmaker caused the value of their vehicle to fall, a US federal judge has ruled.

The owners argue they have suffered economic losses because Toyota didn't disclose or fix defects that made their cars accelerate suddenly.

Toyota had made a motion for the lawsuits to be dismissed but a US judge has allowed the claims to move ahead.

In 2009, Toyota started recalling millions of US vehicles.

"Taking these allegations as true, as the court must at the pleading stage, they establish an economic loss," wrote US district Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California.

"A vehicle with a defect is worth less than one without a defect."