Toyota has agreed to pay US$25.5m to settle out of court a class action lawsuit in the US brought by shareholders over its large-scale recalls in the country.
The shareholders have claimed that the carmaker’s failure to disclose information on the recalls appropriately had caused a sell-off of its shares. Toyota has not acknowledged any negligence but decided to settle the suit in light of costs for continuing the legal battle, the company said.
Payments will be made to individual and institutional investors who bought Toyota’s American depository receipts between May 2005 and early February 2010.
Other class actions have been filed in connection with the automaker’s recalls over fatal and injury accidents caused by unintended acceleration and over economic damage from a decline in the value of Toyota vehicles due to the recalls.