Toyota Fined $1.2B - Crackdown or Shakedown?

[Perfectlap]

Well this isn't a Don King trial (he pays to send jurors to Hawaii after acquittal). Sounds like Toyota consulted with their attorneys and they told them the potential downside in Court would have been steep given the number of deaths. The Oklahoma jury must have spooked them, if a red state jury were willing to give those hated trial lawyers some money who knows what might have been coming on the horizon.


These cases are extremely difficult to win for a plaintiff. Deep pockets pay for excellent corporate defense lawyers who can have the case tossed before it even reaches a jury. At trial they can pay the smoothest talking expert witnesses that will convince a jury that there's a man on the moon right now. And jury's these days who spend many hours watching courtroom dramas are not easily impressed unless you can demonstrate pretty convincingly that there is something rotten in Tokyo. The deck is stacked very much in favor of the deeper pocket, which is typically the defendant. Statistically you've got a very small probability of success. Unless of course there are "bad documents". And for obvious reasons the gubimint is often better at getting these turned over than a high-powered corporate law firm. Something was up.