The Toyota mess is, most certainly, a mess of royal proportions. It seems like a new "class action" lawsuit is being filed every couple of days. Reports are that there are at least 41 of them spread out across the country. But that may not be the best approach for everyone. Maybe not even for most people.
Most folks just want rid of their bad, untrustworthy Toyota, without loosing their shirt in the process. They feel betrayed, most often after years of loyalty to the Toyota brand. And now they hear the Toyota boss tell Congress today that they aren't so sure after all that the floor mats or the sticky gas pedal are the problem.
And there's still a Toyota sitting your driveway? A class action may not be the best answer for you in this case.
There's a place for class actions, certainly, and Toyota may be the perfect example. But often class action cases end up with the consumer getting a small amount while the attorneys get a large amount (which they earn, by the way, from their years of fighting the case without being paid during the fight). Still, some people think the process is not really fair because it can take years to get a class action settled and maybe even longer to get your money to you. That's the reason that a class action is something you have to think carefully about before getting into.
In many smaller class action cases, if not most, what you want for yourself, for your own family, can be achieved more quickly and more beneficially to you (in your pocket) if you take an individual approach.
If what you want the most is just to get out of your bad Toyota, as quick as you can, a class action may not be the best solution for you. An individual "let's take care of me first" case may be your very best way to handle it.
In that event, the big class action law firms may not be interested in your case. Well, we are. We handle class action cases, sure. But the Toyota acceleration recall cases are not ones we are handling on a class action basis. The Toyota class case is likely to end up being huge, cumbersome, dragged out, and very difficult on the consumers (and the lawyers) from start to end. As a Toyota owner, you have to be very sure you want to get into that kind of fight before you go there.
Most people can't afford to park their bad Toyota car and go out and buy another one. What most people tell us is that they want rid of their bad car right now because they just don't trust it or the company anymore.
In that case, we can help. We're Lemon Law lawyers and getting rid of bad recalled Toyota cars and Toyota trucks is what we do. We've been doing it since 1978. Toyota's attorneys know us. We know them too. That's one of the many reasons we think we can help you best.
And best of all, we have a nationwide network of Consumer Law and Lemon Law attorneys who can help you get out of your bad Toyota anywhere in the United States.
If you want to do a class action, okay. We can handle that. But if you just want to get your family's life back to normal, we can handle that too. We understand that sometimes you want to do something that helps everyone out, and sometimes you just want your life back to normal.
Whichever way you want it, we can help. Get a Burdge attorney. Getting rid of lemon Toyota cars and lemon Toyota trucks is what we do. Everyday. Since 1978.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.