Two signifi cant victories for Toyota during the MDL were the dismissal of the majority of New York and Florida claims and the defeat of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Application of California law to the class actions. Why are these rulings important for manufacturers?
T e majority of jurisdictions, including New York and Florida, have ruled that plaintiff s have no legally recognizable claims when the alleged defect has not manifested itself in the product they own. It was this majority rule which resulted in the MDL Court granting, in large part, Toyota’s motion to dismiss under New York and Florida Law. T is ruling is useful to manufac- turers facing “no injury” class action claims because it limits the number of putative class members who can seek recovery. T e Court’s denial of application of California law was
signifi cant because it foreclosed the possibility of certifi ca- tion of a single nationwide class under California law in the MDL and limited the scope of Toyota’s liability by preclud- ing non-Californians from pursuing their claims under the more permissive laws of California. While defense lawyers will argue that even under
California law, a plaintiff ’s product must have either mani- fested the defect or the product is substantially certain to malfunction during the useful life of the product, plaintiff ’s counsel will point to select cases indicating that owners of a product can recover economic damages even if the product functions properly and does not manifest the alleged defect.
You’ve said that your team was very diverse. How did that diversity help you in this case?
Team members were affi liated with multiple practice groups in eight diff erent offi ces, spanned three diff erent generations, and were approximately 60 percent women and 30 percent minori- ties. With a core team of over 90 individuals, each with his and her own unique experiences, perspectives, skills, and talents, we were able to handle myriad issues and draw upon those talents to assist us in the litigation and in our relationships with our
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“ A MATTER OF THIS SCALE... REQUIRES A TEAM DEDICATED TO EACH OTHER... THE DIVERSITY WITHIN OUR TEAM CONTRIBUTES TO OUR COHESIVENESS... AND OUR ABILITY TO WORK HARD.”—CARI DAWSON
client and Toyota outside counsel in related matters. T ere are the very practical skills and talents of a diverse
team, such as having a team member who is Japanese-born, speaks, reads, and writes Japanese, and helps team members to understand Japanese culture; to software engineer team members who assist with technical and engineering issues; to intellectual property team members who routinely draft source code protective orders; to former CPA and econom- ics major team members who can analyze vehicle pricing data and econometric models. Simply put, all of our unique, individual diff erences made us stronger as a team. Further, a matter of this scale, complexity, and mag-
nitude requires a team that is not only committed to the engagement, but also dedicated to each other, supportive of one another and invested in each other. While it may seem counterintuitive, I believe the diversity within the team contributes to our cohesiveness, collegiality, and our ability to work hard and play hard together. And, there are the equally, if not more important, diverse
“people” skills and personalities of our team members, which contributed to our team’s positive relationships with the client and other outside counsel, all of whom have diff erent personalities and working styles. T e end result is greater coordination and collaboration, which ultimately result in a higher quality work product for Toyota. D&B
MARCH/APRIL 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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