Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) has moved to settle the case it has been facing in the US, following its March 2023 admission of “emissions cheating” on some of its forklift models.

On April 8 the US District Court, California Northern District, ordered a continuance of the motion to dismiss the case, after the involved parties announced they had settled on a mediator. This means the case will not be dismissed until there has been progress in mediation.

The case was filed in the Northern District Court of California in September 2024 on behalf of Broadmoor Lumber & Plywood, Italian food distributor Ferraro Foods and nursery Marders against Toyota Industries, Toyota Material Handling NA, Toyota Material Handling Inc and Toyota Motor Corporation.

The three plaintiffs each state they purchased forklifts they believed were low emissions or produced less emissions than they were advised and would not have purchased them if they had known their true emissions output.

The initial complaint filed in 2024 states Toyota’s Special Investigation Committee (SIC), established to investigate the allegations of emissions cheating, “revealed that the cheating was even more widespread than Toyota previously disclosed”.

“In addition to the three forklift engines already implicated, the SIC investigation identified many more,” the complaint continues. “One more current forklift engine (certification model year 2014 1FS), three formerly used forklift engines (certification model year 2007 1DZ, 4Y, and 1FZ), and a current and former engine used in construction machinery like excavators (certification model years 2016 and 2020 Construction 1KD).”

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley issued the continuance, and a case management conference scheduled for April 24 will now be held on June 11.

“At the parties' request, the hearing on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (ECF [41]) is vacated, to allow the parties to focus on settlement discussions,” the Judge’s ruling states. 

“The Court will hold the motion [to dismiss] in abeyance.”