Dimitrios Biller is a former lawyer for Toyota who sued the company in July 2009, claiming that while he worked there, Toyota frequently withheld relevant documents in product-liability suits filed against it. According to Biller, US Toyota units destroyed engineering and testing evidence that would have impacted more than 300 suits over SUV rollover accidents.
Biller says he has thousands of documents proving his allegations. But last week, an arbitrator has ruled that he can’t release them to the public, at least for now. The ruling also states that Toyota cannot force Biller to return the documents to the company, as it has been trying to do.
A lawsuit Biller has filed against Toyota alleges the company "engaged in improper and illegal activities, including concealing and destroying evidence, perjury, violation of court orders, obstructing justice, mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit crimes." Toyota has also sued Biller, claiming that he had violated a non-disclosure agreement he made when he left the company.
According to retired judge Gary Taylor, the ruling will "preserve the status quo" until a ruling on the merits of the case is decided at a later hearing. An earlier California Superior Court ruling had granted Toyota’s motion that the documents remain confidential. –ABC News
We may still get to see what Biller is holding, however. The plaintiff in a Texas case, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a Camry rollover accident, has been granted permission by a Texas appeals court to pursue a contempt order and sanctions against Toyota, in light of Biller’s serious allegations. The plaintiff’s attorney is hoping to use Biller’s documents as evidence.
"The information and documents I have regarding Toyota’s deceptive and illegal discovery practices will one day become publicly available," said Biller. "Our judicial system, government and the American People need to know how Toyota operates with total disregard of our laws and legal system." –ABC News
Nobody plays the American people this hard and gets away with it. Let’s make sure that paying out billions of dollars in lawsuits over its defective, dangerous vehicles, its negligence and its cover-ups teaches Toyota some respect for our laws and our legal system.
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