Congressman Accuses Toyota of Withholding Documents

WASHINGTON - Toyota Motor Corp. “deliberately withheld relevant electronic records” that it was legally required to produce in lawsuits over SUV rollover accidents, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said.

Rep. Ed Towns, D-N.Y, said in a letter to the automaker that a review of documents subpoenaed from former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller also shows Toyota may have “withheld substantial, relevant information” from federal regulators, Automotive News reported.

Toyota responded by saying it has "acted appropriately."

The documents show Toyota kept records that contained design and testing data across all vehicle lines and parts, said Towns, whose panel held one of the two House hearings this week on unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

Toyota avoided revealing the existence of the so-called books of knowledge by agreeing to multi-million-dollar settlements in cases in which they feared the plaintiffs were closing in on discovery of the electronic records, the lawmaker said.

"It is not uncommon," Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight said, "for companies to object to certain demands for documents made in litigation. Consistent with that philosophy, we take appropriate steps to maintain the confidentiality of competitive business information and trade secrets.

"We are confident that we have acted appropriately with respect to product liability litigation and our discovery practices and look forward to addressing Chairman Towns' concerns."

"The Biller documents indicate a systematic disregard for the law and routine violation of court discovery orders in litigation," the letter said.

Towns said the evidence also raised concerns about Toyota's handling of unintended acceleration suits.

Biller expressed concerns in the documents about Toyota's apparent failure to collect and produce relevant evidence in a particular acceleration case.

Towns asked Toyota Motor North America CEO Yoshimi Inaba whether the books of knowledge have ever been disclosed either in litigation or to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If these records have not been provided, the letter asked whether Toyota would petition to reopen all closed lawsuits so that they can be considered.