As part of the settlement reached by the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Eric Holder, in Toyota's unintended accretion case, former U.S. Attorney David Kelley was named as the monitor for Toyota's safety efforts going forward.
Nearly five months after Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to a $1.2-billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department the two sides agreed on a monitor for the Japanese maker’s safety compliance efforts: former U.S. Attorney David Kelley.
In March, Toyota pleaded not guilty, but acknowledged wrongdoing in its handling of cases of unintended acceleration. The two sides reviewed more than a dozen possible candidates before settling on Kelley.
A partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York, Kelley role will have him reviewing Toyota’s safety policies and procedures as well as verifying the accuracy of its public statements.
“We intend to have a cooperative and constructive working relationship with Mr. Kelley, with the goal of making Toyota an even stronger company,” Julie Hamp, Toyota spokesperson, told the Detroit News. “In our view, this is an opportunity to build on the important changes we have made over the past four years to serve our customers better.”
Kelley’s reports on Toyota will be filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, which will decide what, if anything, to release to the public.
(Toyota set to pay more than $1 billion to settle with U.S. Justice Department. For more, Click Here.)
This could be the blueprint for any agreement between the Justice Department and General Motors. The feds are investigating GM for any criminal behavior related to its ignition switch problem that led to the recall of 2.6 million vehicles this year and at least 13 deaths.
(Click Here for more details about Toyota’s $1.2 billion settlement.)
In 2009 and 2010, Toyota recalled 9 million vehicles worldwide due to problems with unintended acceleration, resulting in five fatalities. Initially, the company downplayed the problem as an issue with floor mats, but as time went on the problem became more widespread.
In order to end the investigation, the automaker entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, in which it was fined $1.2 billion – the largest fine ever received by an automaker – and agreed to the monitor.
(To see more about a federal judge urging lawyers to settle with General Motors, Click Here.)
“Toyota put sales over safety and profit over principle,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos at the time the deal was announced. “The disregard Toyota had for the safety of the public was outrageous.
“Not only did Toyota fail to recall cars with problem parts, they continued to manufacture new cars with the same parts they knew were deadly. When media reports arose of Toyota hiding defects, they emphatically denied what they knew was true, assuring consumers that their cars were safe and reliable.”