California: 7 insurers sue Toyota over acceleration crashes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seven insurance companies have sued Toyota Motor Corp. in an attempt to recover money paid to cover crashes they blame on sudden acceleration.
The insurers cite data that blames 725 crashes on the problem and fault the Japanese automaker for failing to equip its cars with an override system that would cause a car to idle if the brake and gas were deployed simultaneously. They are seeking damages in excess of $230,000 from 14 crashes throughout the United States.
The lawsuits allege that “certain of Toyota’s cars and trucks have a defect that causes sudden uncontrolled acceleration to speeds of up to 100 mph or more,” the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Toyota said the latest lawsuits were without merit.
“Toyota believes that any allegation that a vehicle-based defect is the cause of unintended acceleration in this or any other complaint is completely unfounded and has no basis,” Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore told the Times.
The insurance companies are American Automobile Insurance Co., Fireman’s Fund Insurance, National Surety Corp., Ameriprise Insurance, IDS Property Casualty Insurance, Motorists Mutual Insurance and American Hardware Mutual Insurance.
The lawsuits were filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. They follow the recent disclosure that Toyota paid $10 million to the family of four people killed in a runaway Lexus crash that led to recalls of millions of the automaker’s vehicles.
California: Mom sues off-road driver in fatal crash
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of one of eight spectators killed in a fiery off road vehicle crash in the Mojave Desert last summer has sued the driver and the event’s promoter, accusing them of negligence.
Doris Levinson filed the wrongful death lawsuit last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court against driver Brett M. Sloppy and South El Monte-based MDR Productions, which operates as Mojave Desert Racing.
Sloppy’s truck plowed into a crowd of spectators during the California 200 race on Aug. 14, landing on its roof. Levinson’s 22-year-old son, Andrew Therrien, pushed his daughter out of the way, but he was struck and later died.
Numerous others, including Therrien’s daughter, were injured.
A woman answering the phone at MDR Productions said Monday night that the company had no comment on the lawsuit.
The suit accuses Sloppy of driving recklessly at the Johnson Valley off-highway vehicle area and alleges that MDR failed to take adequate safety precautions for spectators.
A permit issued for the race by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management showed spectator safety was the responsibility of MDR, whose own rules require fans to stay 100 feet away from the course.
The suit said MDR did not adequately staff the event, and did not monitor the crowd to ensure compliance with its 100-feet rule. It also did not take steps, such as erecting a temporary fence, to ensure spectator safety or post signs about the risks, the suit said.
In an internal review released in November, the BLM said its staff failed to properly monitor and prepare for the 200-mile race.
Only one ranger was working in the 500,000-acre area on the day of the crash, and it was for routine patrol, not race monitoring, the review said. The ranger had visited only a portion of the course before the event.
The suit said the BLM will also be sued.
Pennsylvania: Teen still in lockup for hammer attack
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh-area teen convicted of attacking his ex-girlfriend with a hammer must remain in juvenile detention until March, but can now leave the lockup during the day to attend community college classes.
Allegheny County Judge Kim Clark on Monday again reviewed the case of 19-year-old Robertino DeAngelis and refused his attorney’s request to release him.
In August 2009, DeAngelis was found delinquent — the juvenile court equivalent of guilty — of attempted homicide and other charges in August in the Halloween 2007 attack on Sarah DeIuliis (dee-ooh-LEE’-us). After attacking DeIuliis with a hammer, DeAngelis jumped in front of a light-rail trail, suffering severe brain injuries.
DeAngelis could be held in the juvenile facility until he turns 21.
Iowa: German man pleads guilty to U.S. citizenship claim
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A German man who attended Morningside College in Sioux City has pleaded guilty to claiming he was a U.S. so he could vote.
KTIV-TV in Sioux City is reporting that Christopher Mettin was sentenced to time already served, which was 52 days, and could be deported.
A charge of falsely claiming he was a U.S. citizen was dropped.
Court records show Mettin, who was 19 when he was arrested last fall, entered the country legally with a student visa to attend Morningside College but the college terminated the visa in October for “failing to maintain status.”
In September, Mettin checked a box on a voter registration form stating he was a U.S. citizen.
Mettin, who is a German citizen, is in the custody of U.S. immigration officials.
Nevada: OJ co-defendant due for plea deal in Vegas heist
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former O.J. Simpson co-defendant is due to take a plea deal that will free him from prison after more than two years and avoid a retrial in their 2007 Las Vegas armed robbery and kidnapping case.
Clarence “C.J.” Stewart’s lawyer said Monday that Stewart will plead an equivalent of no contest Tuesday to felony robbery and conspiracy charges.
A defense attorney says his 56-year-old client is expected to get nine months of house arrest and an unspecified additional term of probation.
The Nevada Supreme Court granted Stewart a new trial last October. It ruled he didn’t get a fair trial due to Simpson’s notoriety.
The state high court upheld Simpson’s conviction and nine-to-33-year prison sentence. It’s considering Simpson’s request for a rehearing.
