Toyota settles two sudden-acceleration cases

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Toyota has settled two high-profile cases involving sudden unintended acceleration that were set for trial in February, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The settlements come only weeks after the company agreed to a $1 billion settlement agreement in which the car maker agreed to install a brake-override system in over 3 million cars, create a $250 million fund to compensate owners who aren’t eligible for the override system, and create a separate $250 million fund to compensate Toyota owners who lost value in their cars because of the bad publicity and sold them at a reduced price between Sept. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010.

The two bellwether cases in the settlement reportedly involved a lemon law claim brought by a retired police officer in Los Angeles and a wrongful death claim by the family of a driver and passenger killed when their 2008 Camry accelerated and slammed into a wall in Utah.

Toyota still faces more than 300 lawsuits in federal and state court. The next potential trial is set for April 15 in Los Angeles in a wrongful death action by the family of a woman claiming that her 2006 Camry suddenly accelerated, hit a telephone pole, flipped over and crashed into a tree.