Murphy v. Toyota

A federal court authorized the Notice to inform you of a proposed class action settlement. You are NOT being sued. The Notice explains the litigation, the proposed Settlement, and your legal rights. Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division is overseeing this case and has exclusive jurisdiction over the Settlement. This litigation is known as Murphy v. Toyota Motor Corp., Case No. 4:21-cv-00178 (E.D. Tex.).

If you have any questions, please contact the Settlement Notice Administrator at 1-877-522-3626.

This lawsuit alleges that Toyota designed and sold 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles with a defective battery terminal. The battery terminal includes a battery clamp sub-assembly, battery tray, and positive terminal cover that holds the battery in place while the vehicle is in use. Plaintiffs allege that the battery defect can cause a failure of the battery leading the automobile to lose electrical power, experience vehicle stalling, and potentially cause a fire in the engine compartment.

Toyota denies all claims and allegations of wrongdoing and denies that they violated any law or duty that would give rise to liability. The Court has not decided who is right.

The Settlement applies to 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 vehicles, which were identified as part of Recall 23V-734 submitted to NHTSA on or about November 1, 2023. Note: Hybrid 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles are not included in the Recall or the Settlement.

To determine whether your vehicle is part of the Settlement, please use the VIN lookup tool here to check the eligibility of your vehicle. If you do not know your VIN, please check the driver’s side dashboard and/or driver’s side door post, which will contain the 17-digit VIN for your vehicle. You should take a photo of the VIN with your phone, so you have easy access to the number when you’re filing a claim.

In a class action, people called “class representatives” sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of these people together are known as the “Class” or “Class Members,” and the Court must approve this procedure. When a class action is settled, the Court resolves the issues in the lawsuit for all class members, except for those who request to be excluded from (or “opt out” of) the class. Opting out means that you will not receive benefits under the Settlement.

Both sides in the lawsuit agreed to the Settlement to avoid the cost and risk of further litigation, including a potential trial. The Settlement provides benefits to Class Members in exchange for releasing Toyota from liability. The Settlement does not mean that Toyota broke any laws or did anything wrong, and the Court did not decide which side was right. The Class Representatives and the lawyers representing the Class believe that the Settlement is in the best interests of all Class Members.

The Notice summarizes the essential terms of the Settlement. The Settlement Agreement sets forth in greater detail the rights and obligations of the parties. You can access the Settlement Agreement and other important case documents here.

You are included in the Class if, as of June 25, 2024, you own, lease, or previously owned or leased a Subject Vehicle (as defined in FAQ 3) in any of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all other United States territories and/or possessions.

To check whether you have a Subject Vehicle, please enter your Vehicle Identification Number in the VIN lookup tool here.

The following entities and individuals are excluded from the Class:

• Toyota, its officers, directors, and employees;
• Plaintiffs’ counsel;
• the Court and associated Court staff assigned to this case and their immediate family members; and
• persons or entities who or which timely and properly exclude themselves from the Class and the exclusion request is finally approved by the Court.

For more information, please review the Settlement Agreement available here.

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Class, you may contact the Settlement Notice Administrator at 1-877-522-3626. You can also check whether you have a Subject Vehicle by entering your Vehicle Identification Number in the VIN lookup tool here.

Plaintiffs and Toyota have agreed to a Customer Support Program which consists of:

• An Inspection Program to confirm that the Subject Vehicle’s battery is the correct size and make certain repairs;
• A Battery Replacement Reimbursement Program;
• An Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Repair/Replacement Expense Reimbursement Program; and
• An Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Unique Thermal Expense Reimbursement Program.

To receive the compensation benefits, you must submit a claim by the corresponding deadlines. If you are a member of the Class and choose to do nothing, you will not receive certain benefits provided under the Settlement, and you will give up the right to sue Toyota about the issues in the lawsuit.

Toyota shall institute a Settlement Inspection Program where authorized Toyota Dealers will perform an inspection the Subject Vehicle to confirm that the Subject Vehicle’s battery is the correct size. If certain components used to secure the battery in place are found to be damaged or missing during this inspection, they will be replaced at no cost to the Class Member, as long as the correct size battery is installed at the time of the inspection. Repairs will not be made to fix any damage caused by a collision involving the Subject Vehicle.

You may participate in the Inspection Program if:

1. your Subject Vehicle had not previously been inspected by an authorized Toyota Dealer as part of the Consumer Advisory 21TG01 (“Consumer Advisory”); or
2. your Subject Vehicle had previously been inspected by a Toyota Dealer as part of the Consumer Advisory, but you request a second inspection be performed.

Toyota will implement a Battery Replacement Reimbursement Program that permits Class Members to submit a claim for a partial reimbursement to replace a Group 26R battery with a Group 35 battery in a Subject Vehicle. The amount of reimbursement will be as follows:

• For Class Members that already received a $32 discount pursuant to Consumer Advisory 21TG01, the Class Member may submit a claim to receive a $43 reimbursement.
• For Class Members that purchased a battery prior to June 25, 2024, but had not received a $32 discount pursuant to the Consumer Advisory, the Class Member may submit a claim to receive a $75 reimbursement.
• For Class Members that purchase a battery at an authorized Toyota Dealer after June 25, 2024, the Class Member may submit a claim to receive a $75 reimbursement.
• Class Members that have not previously received a discount pursuant to the Consumer Advisory and purchase a battery after June 25, 2024, from a source other than an authorized Toyota Dealer will not be eligible for reimbursement.

Class Members may submit claims under the Battery Replacement Reimbursement Program until June 25, 2025.

The deadline to submit a claim under the Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Repair/Replacement Expense Reimbursement Program was December 1, 2024.

The Out-of-Pocket Repair/Replacement Expense Reimbursement Program permitted Class Members to submit Out-of-Pocket Claims for reimbursement for (i) unreimbursed repairs or parts replacements of the battery hold-down assembly of the Subject Vehicle and (ii) related reasonable rental and/or towing expenses.

Expenses for claims submitted as part of the Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Repair/Replacement Expense Reimbursement Program must have been incurred prior to June 25, 2024.

Expenses that are not the result of the alleged defect to the Subject Vehicle’s battery hold-down assembly, but rather are the result of collision, misuse and/or abuse are not eligible for reimbursement.

Toyota will implement an Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Unique Thermal Expense Reimbursement Program that permits Class Members to submit Out-of-Pocket Claims for reimbursement for (i) unreimbursed out-of-pocket damages to the Subject Vehicle and/or property damage caused by a Unique Thermal Event caused by the alleged defect to the Subject Vehicle’s battery hold-down assembly and (ii) related reasonable rental and/or towing expenses.

The amount reimbursed for a Claim is limited to the actual unreimbursed out-of-pocket expense actually incurred by the Class Member. For the avoidance of doubt, where a claim was made pursuant to a Class Member’s insurance policy, reimbursement is limited to the deductible actually paid by the Class Member.

Expenses for claims submitted as part of the Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Unique Thermal Expense Reimbursement Program must have been incurred within a year following June 25, 2024, or 30 days after the Recall Remedy is available to the Class Member, whichever is earlier.

Claims for the Unreimbursed Out-of-Pocket Unique Thermal Expense Reimbursement Program must be submitted by July 1, 2025.

Expenses that are not the result of the alleged defect to the Subject Vehicle’s battery hold-down assembly, but rather are the result of collision, misuse, and/or abuse will not be eligible for reimbursement.

The claims process is easy to complete and will require basic documentation to show your out-of-pocket expenses, such as a receipt, invoice, credit card statement, canceled check, an associated towing or rental car rental expense, an associated damage related to the battery hold-down assembly unit, and other reasonable and practicable evidence. To submit your claim, you can visit the online claim portal here, input your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), and fill out the Claim Form.

If you would prefer to submit your Claim Form and supporting documentation by mail, you can download a copy of the paper Claim Form here or request a hardcopy form to be mailed to you by calling 1-877-522-3626.

Submit claims online here.

OR

Submit claims via mail to the following address:

Murphy v. Toyota Settlement
Settlement Notice Administrator
P.O. Box 2589
Portland, OR 97208-2589

The Settlement Special Administrator will begin issuing payments on a rolling basis within 60 days after the Court grants final approval of the Settlement and any appeals of that final approval order are resolved. Payments will continue on a rolling basis as claims are submitted and approved. Please check this website for updates on Settlement payments.

You may submit a claim for out-of-pocket expenses for each Subject Vehicle you own(ed) or lease(d), as long your out-of-pocket expenses are not duplicative. For example, if you have two Subject Vehicles, you may submit a separate claim for each vehicle, but you may not seek reimbursement twice for the same out-of-pocket expense.

If the Settlement becomes final and you did not exclude yourself, you will release Toyota and the Released Parties from liability and will not be able to sue Toyota about the issues in the lawsuit.

Under the Settlement, you are not releasing any claims for personal injury or wrongful death.

The Settlement Agreement at Section VII and Appendix A of the Notice describe the released claims in legal terminology, so read it carefully. The Settlement Agreement is available here. You can talk to one of the lawyers listed in FAQ 21 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense if you have questions about the released claims or what they mean.

If you wished to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Toyota over the legal issues in this lawsuit, then you must have taken the steps to exclude yourself from the Settlement. This is also known as “opting out” of the Class.

If you excluded yourself, you will not receive any Settlement benefits and you will not be bound by anything that happens in this lawsuit. If you asked to be excluded, you also cannot object to the Settlement because you will no longer be part of the Class.

If you timely and properly requested exclusion from the Settlement, you will not release your claims resolved under the Settlement and will retain the right to sue Toyota about the issues in this lawsuit.

To have excluded yourself from the Settlement you must have submitted a letter by U.S. Mail saying that you wanted to "opt out of" or "be excluded from" the Settlement Class no later than October 21, 2024. The deadline has now passed.

Yes. The Court has appointed lawyers from the law firms Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC, McCune Law Group APC, Bailey & Glasser LLP, and Steckler Wayne Cherry & Love PLLC. These lawyers are called “Class Counsel.” Their contact information is as follows:

Class Counsel
Kimberly A. Justice Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC 923 Fayette Street Conshohocken, PA 19428  1-484-243-6335  kjustice@fklmlaw.com	David C. Wright McCune Law Group APC p 3281 E. Guasti, Road Suite 100 Ontario, California 91761  1-909-557-1250  dcw@mccunewright.com
Bruce Steckler Steckler Wayne Cherry & Love PLLC 12720 Hillcrest Road Dallas, Texas 75230  1-972-387-4040  bruce@swclaw.com	Todd A. Walburg Bailey & Glasser, LLP 1999 Harrison Street Suite 660 Oakland, California 94612  1-510-272-8000  twalburg@baileyglasser.com

If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

The Court has approved Class Counsel’s requests for fees, costs and expenses, and Settlement Class Representative service awards. You can review the Court’s Order Awarding Attorneys' Fees, Expenses, and Service Awards and associated motions on the Documents page.

If you did not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you could have objected to it. The Court would have considered your views in deciding whether to approve or reject this Settlement. If the Court does not approve the Settlement, no settlement payments will be sent, and the lawsuit will continue. To have commented on or to have objected to the Settlement or to Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, and the request for Settlement Class Representative service awards, you or your attorney should have submitted your written objection to the Court with the following information:

• The case name “Murphy v. Toyota Motor Corp., Case No. 4:21-cv-00178 (E.D. Tex.)”;
• Your full name, current residential address, mailing address (if different), telephone number, and e-mail address;
• An explanation of the basis upon which you claim to be a Class Member, including the make, model year, and VIN(s) of the Subject Vehicle(s), and whether the Subject Vehicle is currently owned or currently leased by you;
• Whether the objection applies only to you, to a specific subset of the Class or to the entire Class, and all grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection, and any documents or other evidence you believe supports the objection;
• The number of times you have objected to a class action settlement within the five years preceding the date that you file the objection to this Settlement, the caption and case number of each case in which you have made such objection and the caption and case number of any related appeal, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon your prior such objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case;
• If you have not made any such prior objection, you shall affirmatively so state in the written materials provided with the objection;
• A list of all persons who will be called to testify at the Fairness Hearing in support of the objection;
• A statement confirming whether you intend to personally appear and/or testify at the Fairness Hearing; and
• Your original signature and date of signature (an electronic signature or attorney’s signature is not sufficient).

If an objection was made through a lawyer, the objection must have also included (in addition to the above items):

• The full name, telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address of all counsel who represent you, including any former or current counsel who may be entitled to compensation for any reason related to the objection to the Settlement Agreement and/or the request for attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses;
• The identity of all counsel representing you who will appear at the Fairness Hearing; and
• The number of times your counsel has represented an individual or entity on whose behalf counsel has objected to a class action settlement within the five years preceding the date that they have filed the objection, and the caption and case number of each case in which your counsel has made such objection and the caption and case number of any related appeal.

The lawyer(s) asserting the objection should have also:

• Filed a notice of appearance with the Court before the deadline to submit objections;
• Filed a sworn declaration attesting to his or her representation of each Class Member on whose behalf the objection is being filed, and specify the number of times during the prior five-year period that the lawyer or their law firm has objected to a class action settlement; and
• Complied with the written objection requirements described in Section VI.A. of the Settlement Agreement.

You must have filed your objection electronically with the Court on or before September 30, 2024, or must have mailed your objection to the Clerk of the Court, Class Counsel and Toyota’s counsel so that it was received by September 30, 2024:

If you intended to appear at the Fairness Hearing, either in person or through personal counsel hired at your expense, you or your attorney(s) who intended to appear must have also delivered a notice of intention to appear to Class Counsel and to Toyota’s Counsel at the addresses listed above, and file that notice with the Court by October 21, 2024.

Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Class and do not want to receive any benefits under the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the Settlement no longer affects you. Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the settlement, the requested fees, costs, and expenses, and/or Settlement Class Representative service awards. You may object only if you stay in the Class. If you make an objection, you must still submit a claim to receive compensation under the Settlement.

The Fairness Hearing occurred on November 19, 2024, and the Court issued its Final Approval Order to the Settlement on the same day. You can review the Court’s Final Order Approving the Class Action Settlement, along with the Court’s Order Awarding Attorneys’ Fees, on the Documents page.

No, you were not required to come to the hearing. The Fairness Hearing occurred on November 19, 2024, and the Court granted its Final Approval Order on the same day.

The Fairness Hearing occurred on November 19, 2024, and the Court granted its Final Approval Order on the same day.

This website and the Notice summarize the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can also call the toll-free number, 1-877-522-3626.