By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
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The Texas Supreme Court on Aug. 27 ruled that a Joshua woman paralyzed in a 2005 crash can pursue a contempt-of-court action against Toyota Motor Corp. for allegedly hiding information about automobile defects, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Pennie Green’s 1997 Toyota Camry rolled over in 2005, which caused the roof to collapse down to the driver’s side window sill. The accident left Green, 17 at the time, a quadriplegic.
Green sued Toyota in the 18th District Court, alleging defects to the car’s seat belts and roof structure.
The accident occurred June 8, 2005, on Farm-to-Market Road 1187. Green’s Toyota struck another Toyota driven by a Burleson man who, according to Green’s original 2005 filing, failed to yield right of way while making a left turn. The roof collapse broke Green’s neck and rendered her quadriplegic.
Green’s lawsuit was dismissed in 2007 after she reached an out-of-court settlement for $1.5 million.
A Toyota lawyer involved in Green’s case sued the carmaker in federal court two years later, however. That attorney, Dimitrios Biller, alleged that Toyota illegally concealed safety related engineering documents in numerous lawsuits, including Green’s.
Toyota labeled Biller a disgruntled former employee and denied the accusations.
18th District Court Judge John Neill last year launched and investigation into whether Toyota ought to be held in contempt of court and fined based on Biller’s allegations. Neill initiated the investigation at Green’s urging, according to the Statesman.
Biller was scheduled to testify in Neill’s court in February until the Texas Supreme Court halted the proceedings to review Toyota’s request to prohibit the proceedings.
Toyota lawyers argued that Neill’s court lost jurisdiction over the matter shortly after Green’s case dismissed.
Green’s lawyer, Jeff Embry of Tyler, argued that Neill ordered Toyota to disclose the relevant safety documents in 2006 and added that Texas judges retain the power to enforce court orders, even after cases have been dismissed.
The Texas Supreme Court gave no reasons for its decision, which denies Toyota’s request to intervene and lifts the stay on the contempt proceedings.
The ruling should clear the way for Biller to testify about his stint as managing counsel in Toyota’s Product Liability Group from 2003-07, according to the Statesman.
Biller has already supplied internal documents to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, including his Sept. 1, 2005, memo warning supervisors that Toyota had failed to produce electronic documents despite court orders to do so.
Toyota, Biller noted, gathered information for years about design problems into “books of knowledge,” which were used to help engineers plan new vehicles.
A 2006 memo noted that Biller settled with Green for more than anticipated, thanks to her lawyer’s discovery efforts. Green’s lawyers “were getting too close to requiring” Toyota to produce the books of knowledge, according to the memo.
Should Neill issue a contempt fine against Toyota, Embry said he hopes the money will go to Green.
