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A Court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of two class action lawsuits and about all of your options and associated deadlines before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. The class actions were consolidated by the Court under the name of Remy McCarthy, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al., No. 8:18-CV-00201-JLS-KES. The defendants are Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. The Notice explains the claims and allegations in the litigation, the Settlement, and your legal rights.
You are NOT being sued. The Court still has to decide whether to finally approve the Settlement. Payments and other benefits will be distributed only if the Court finally approves the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement. Please be patient and check this website regularly for updates.
Please do not contact the Court or Toyota Dealers regarding the details of this Settlement while it is pending before the Court. All questions should be directed to the Settlement Notice Administrator at 1-833-942-3997.
The cy pres doctrine allows for the distribution of undistributed Settlement funds to charitable causes, which indirectly benefit the Settlement Class.
The proposed cy pres recipient in this case is Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute (“TTI”). For 70 years, TTI has addressed complex transportation challenges and opportunities with innovation, objectivity and unmatched technical expertise. With expertise in engineering, planning, economics, policy, public engagement, environmental sciences, data sciences, and social sciences, TTI researchers play a key role in educating the next generation of transportation professionals, training students both in the laboratory and in the classroom. See generally https://tti.tamu.edu/about/.
To opt out of/ exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must either submit your request electronically on the Settlement website linked here, or mail a written request to opt out of/exclude yourself from the Settlement to the Settlement Notice Administrator specifying that you want to opt-out from the Settlement. If you choose to mail in your request, please use this form. If you do not use the on-line opt-out form or mail a hard copy of the provided form, your request to opt out of/exclude yourself from the Settlement MUST include all of the following information or it will be disregarded:
• your full name, current residential address, mailing address (if different), and telephone number.
• the model year, make, model, and VIN number of your vehicle(s)
• the name of the Action, Remy McCarthy, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., and the case number (8:18-CV-00201-JLS-KES)
• a statement clearly indicating that you want to opt-out from the Class (e.g., “please exclude me from the class”); and
• signed and dated by you (an attorney’s signature is not sufficient).
You must submit your request for exclusion online by October 26, 2022*, or by mail postmarked no later than October 26, 2022* and sent to:
Prius IPM
Settlement Notice Administrator
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration
P.O. Box 5324
New York, NY 10150-5324
All correspondence, including but not limited to paper claim forms, must be directed to this address. Please Do Not Contact the Court.
The deadlines found in the Notice may be changed by the Court. Please check this website regularly for updates regarding the Settlement.
No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it – but you can if you provide advance notice of your intention to appear (See FAQ 25). As long as you filed a written objection with all of the required information on time with the Settlement Notice Administrator, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but it is not required.
If you have not excluded yourself from the Settlement, you may appear at the Fairness Hearing in person or by your own counsel (at your own expense) and may be heard to the extent allowed by the Court, either in support of or in opposition to the Settlement and/or the Fee Request.
However, you shall not be able to speak unless you or your counsel file a “Notice of Intent to Appear in Remy McCarthy et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al.” with the Clerk of Court on or before October 26, 2022*.
In the Notice, you must include your name; address; telephone number; the make, model year, and VIN number of the Subject Vehicle(s); and signature.
The Clerk of Court’s address is as follows:
First Street U.S. Courthouse
350 W 1st Street, Courtroom 8A, 8th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012-4565
All correspondence, including but not limited to paper claim forms, must be directed to this address, Prius IPM Settlement Notice Administrator c/o Kroll Settlement Administration, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324. Please Do Not Contact the Court.
The Court has appointed lawyers to collectively represent Class Members. These lawyers are called “Class Counsel”: Jeffrey L. Fazio and Dina E. Micheletti of Fazio Micheletti LLP and Amnon Z. Siegel of Miller Barondess LLP are Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense. Their contact information is as follows:
Jeffrey L.
Fazio
Dina E.
Micheletti
Fazio Micheletti LLP
1111 Broadway, Suite 400
Oakland,
CA 94607
Tel: (925)
543-2555
Fax: (925)
369-0344
Website:
www.fazmiclaw.com
Amnon Z. Siegel
Miller Barondess LLP
1999
Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1000
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Tel: (310) 552-4400
Fax: (310) 552-8400
Website: www.millerbarondess.com
All correspondence, including but not limited to paper claim forms, must be directed to this address, Prius IPM Settlement Notice Administrator c/o Kroll Settlement Administration, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324. Please Do Not Contact the Court.
The law firms that worked on this Action on behalf of the Class will ask the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees in the amount recommended by the Settlement Special Master appointed by the Court, which is $19 million, and for reimbursement of their litigation expenses in an amount not to exceed $600,000. Toyota will not oppose the request for attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses in these amounts.
Class Counsel will also ask the Court to award each of the Class Representatives service awards in the amount of $5,000 for the time and effort each spent assisting Class Counsel, participating in discovery (including having their depositions taken), and representing Class Members. Toyota will not oppose the request for Class Representative service awards in this amount.
The Court must approve the request for attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses and the request for service awards.
The amounts awarded by the Court will not be deducted from the Settlement Fund; rather, they will be paid separately by Toyota, in addition to all the other benefits provided by the Settlement Agreement.
In the event that the Court awards less than $19 million in attorneys’ fees recommended by the Settlement Special master, the difference between the amount requested and the amount awarded will be deposited into the Settlement Fund.
The Settlement will not be final unless and until the Court grants final approval of the Settlement at or after the Fairness Hearing and after any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement. See FAQ No. 3. Please be patient and check the website identified in the Notice regularly.
Please do not contact the Court. All questions should be directed to the Settlement Notice Administrator.