Toyota’s War With Dealer Over Recalls Cost It $16 Million
- California dealer claimed his Autovation program too effective
- Santa Ana jury found Toyota not liable for punitive damages
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
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Toyota Motor Corp. must pay $15.8 million to a California dealer who accused it of retaliating against him because he had developed safety-recall software that was costing the automaker millions of dollars in car repairs.
A state court jury in Santa Ana on Monday found Toyota liable for unfair interference in a contract Roger Hogan’s two dealerships had with the automaker. But the jury found Toyota didn’t intend to deceive the dealerships by hiding material facts, and as a result didn’t have to pay punitive damages.