A slew of consumer and shareholder suits against Toyota Motor Corp. are being consolidated in federal court in Santa Ana.
The move puts U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in charge of determining basic legal issues for scores of lawsuits against the Japanese automaker for unintended acceleration on some of its vehicles.
Santa Ana was picked by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation—a panel of judges that centralizes related lawsuits—for its proximity to Toyota’s U.S. headquarters in Torrance.
Toyota faces at 177 consumer and shareholder lawsuits, according to Bloomberg.
In March, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas filed suit against Toyota over a series of recalls of some of its vehicles.
Judge Selna was appointed to his post by President George W. Bush in 2003.
