Toyota's Second Shoe Drops: Shareholders Sue

There is something very seriously wrong with a financial system in which the owners of a company sue the company they own for damages when the company's management fails to do its job properly.

 

In a similar vein, we had a school board trustee sue our school district. How wrong is that?

Tom

 

Since the company's management are employees of the company, shouldn't they be accountable to the people who have invested in the company for screwing up? If the managers are sued individually, the company has an obligation to defend them. Therefore, the lawsuit(s) against the company.

 

No doubt fueled by gems of reporting like this:

CBC News - Consumer Life - Toyota floor-mat problems arose in 2003

Apparently, unsecured carpet floor mats in 2003 Celicas are clear evidence that Toyota failed to act early enough when rubber/winter or the wrong type of floor mats were not attached to the provided floor hooks. Some people want the manufacturer to hold their hands. Forget about mentioning that some people mistake the gas pedal for the brake and blame the car's electronics. Forget about mentioning that some people make sh*t up for attention and money.

As for the stock price, you only have to look back a year ($60) to see how well the stock is doing now ($80).

 

Your hope and prayer every night when you got to bed. However you're going to be disappointed.

Living with hatred is such a downer. It's like there's a dark cloud always over your head. In your case you refuse to get out from underneath it. You enjoy it apparently.

 

+1
Must be a real bummer to live like that

 

Sounds like you are projecting your anger at owners who have complained about their Toyotas at me. If that floats your boat, then have at it. I am actually quite happy. Health care reform was signed into law today. I personally know 3 people who will benefit from the provisions in the law that ban denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, so today is a great day. Good luck to you in your endeavors.

 

I want to personally thank every Toyota shareholder who dumped their stock, and allowed me to buy it at a low price.

 

Apriusfan, shareholders like you should sue shareholders like you, in cases where you put in place a board incompetent enough to hire incompetent managers and pay them wages far in excess of what they are worth.

Good Luck!

 

Doesn't mean they won't be priced out of the market. Expect lots of "sure we'll insure your pre-existing condition--for only $1000 per month" stories.

Read through the SEC filings of all the auto manufacturers. I'm sure you'll find lawsuits against every one. Every plaintiff claims great damage. Every corporation claims no basis & will vigorously defend. I dare say most go nowhere.

 

Everyone here knows that is its unethical AND illegal to lie in SEC filings, which are supposed to be FULL disclosure of any problems a company faces (along with any positives). If this law suit is based on the email between execs that stated that they saved money by not recalling there could be a case. It can't be because you lost money, it has to be you as a shareholder were lied to in official documents that swayed you to purchase or retain stock that lost value BECAUSE of the lie.

Shareholders have every right to be angry in that aspect and if the lawsuit proves it, Toyota could be held criminally as well as civilly liable.

 

I'm surprised that so many of you don't seem to even sort of understand why a bunch of shareholders feel misled by a corporation that they feel has lied to them. I don't think a class action suit will make a difference, but I can understand why shareholders would be upset. This is especially the case when small shareholders have little or no effective leverage in placing board members. Additionally, even with Sarbanes-Oxley in place, investors still have little information regarding the operating procedures in place of most firms (for a variety of reasons). As a result, they have to rely on the statements that these companies make in their disclosures and filings to govern their investment decisions. Disclosures in federal filings (e.g. 10-k, 10-q) are regulated by law (especially in regards to fraud and misrepresentation) - although I am not familiar with the details.

EDIT:

bah, you beat me by 4 minutes.

 

I only know of one suing shareholder to date, Mr. Stackhouse, who bought 40 shares in December 2009. I would be surprised to find out that he didn't buy the shares just so he could file this lawsuit.

I admit that I'm not an expert on international investor law, but just how much control does SEC and Sarbanes Oxley have over a company located in Japan? I do note that Mr. Stackhouse didn't buy shares of Toyota stock- he bought "

American Depositary Receipts", ​

which represent real shares issued in Japan. I suspect that means you don't have any vote on board members. Just wondering... but I seem to remember from college economics or financial management (from 35 years ago!) that reduced SEC oversight was one of the reasons buying foreign stocks was seen as safer than commodities but not as safe as domestic stocks.

 

Hoorah! I'm going to join the class-action lawsuit and make a ton of money!

Oh wait, my stock went up. Nevermind.

 

From the SEC:
International Investing

and answers.com:
American Depositary Receipt: Definition from Answers.com

You're probably correct about the lack of voting rights on Toyota ADRs (but I don't do direct ADR investment) so I'm no expert. My intention was to point out that the inflammatory personal attacks by a certain member for voting out board members were fundamentally baseless.

 

I think you're right about voting out board members in corporations in general. A good example of this is in the realm of CEO pay. I'm sorry, but I don't believe American CEOs are 4 times better than European CEOs or 6 times better than Japanese CEOs. Probably why I only invest in things I can "touch".

In your first citation, it does indicate that the depositary bank can vote the stock represented by your ADRs according to your instructions. Thanks for helping educate me.

Still think this is a frivolous lawsuit. They're going to have a hard time proving that Toyota's executives knew that the billions spent on the floor mat and accelerator pedal recalls was a waste of money. Of course, ATAC doesn't expect to have to prove it or the whole mess. They will get their 1/3 of $30 billion and the shareholders and Toyota owners will get maybe $1000 each.

 

I've said repeatedly the worse thing you can do in this country is to apologize for anything and accept responsibility. I guess the Japanese don't understand that. They opt for politeness.

Toyota has been given a workover by the media and the Michigan politicians. Most owners don't have a clue as to whether there is any substance to the issues generated in the media. The few documented have been shown to be hoaxes or driver error.

As the result of all this frivolity, Toyota stock has taken a hit. So now some stockholders--a select few, mind you-- are raising a legal stink which won't get them anywhere.

This is one big comedy of errors. Pure Shakespeare.

 

I would say it is not a frivolous lawsuit. Many of you have suggested that fighting with the NHTSA was natural business because it saved money in the short term. Shareholders in toyota should have been reasonably assured that Toyota was being true to its history and putting saftey and quality above sales. They had information about the safety of their cars that they did not disclose to shareholders.

That being said, I don't think the lawsuit has a leg to stand on. You would need to show damages, and toyota can claim that it thought the extent of the possible problems was small and did not need to disclose them.

Shareholder lawsuits were totally valid in the cases of ENRON and TICO where the officers outright lied in their filings. I would not put Toyota in this category. Shareholders in GM have much bigger issues of lack of disclosure.

In full disclosure I own no toyota stock. I do have auto sector exposure in holdings of Ford and JCI.

 

THe stock price went up after the apology and toyota promised to be more open and honest in safety investigations. What chart are you reading.

The media will be on this as long as the story sells. Toyota can help close the story down by being fully cooperative.