Toyota Has To Pay Dealer US $16 Million Over Recall Lawsuit

Toyota Motor Corp. must pay $15.8 million to one of its largest dealers in Southern California who accused it of retaliating against him because he had developed safety-recall software that was costing the automaker millions of dollar in car repairs.

A state court jury in Santa Ana on Monday found Toyota liable for unfair interference in a contract Roger Hogan’s two dealerships had with the automaker. But the jury found Japanese Automaker did not intend to deceive the dealerships by hiding material facts, and as a result did not have to pay punitive damages.

The dealer alleged that the automaker retaliated against him after he began raising concerns about the safety of the Prius’ electric power system in 2011 and for his effort to promote a safety recall software in 2011.