Toyota agrees to $1 billion settlement

Toyota Motor Corp has offered to settle its acceleration case with a payment of more than $1 billion.

Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in Tokyo December 25, 2012. The company offered to settle its acceleration case for more than $1 billion.

Yuriko Nakao/Reuters

December 26, 2012

Toyota Motor Corp has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to settle U.S. litigation over claims that its vehicles suddenly and unintentionally accelerated, according to court filings made public on Wednesday.

The deal, which must be approved by a California federal judge, includes direct payments to customers as well as the installation of a brake override system in about 3.25 million vehicles, plaintiff attorneys said.

The terms include a $250 million fund for former Toyota owners who sold vehicles at reduced prices because of bad publicity, and a separate $250 million fund for owners not eligible for the brake override system.

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Plaintiff attorneys are slated to receive up to $200 million in fees and $27 million in costs, according to court documents.