Prosecutors for Orange County plan to file a lawsuit on Friday against Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., the Japanese automaker’s U.S. sales and marketing arm, because of continuing problems with Toyota vehicles.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ office said it was filing the civil suit against Toyota to prevent the automaker from continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices.
Rackauckas is scheduled to announce the lawsuit at a news conference at 1 p.m., according to a statement on his office’s Web site.
The suit comes on the heels of Toyota recalling more than 8.5 million vehicles to address the risk that accelerator pedals could become stuck because of a loose floor mat or a glitch in the pedal assembly.
Unintended acceleration in the company’s Toyota and Lexus models has been linked to at least five U.S. crash deaths since 2007. Authorities are investigating reports alleging 47 other fatalities over the past decade.
Susan Kang Schroeder, a spokeswoman for Rackauckas, said the suit didn’t seek an injunction to stop Toyota from selling vehicles but to cease “unfair business practices.”
Toyota had no comment, as the company had not seen the lawsuit.
