More than 100 lawyers packed a downtown San Diego federal courtroom on Thursday to hear arguments about which court is best prepared to hear the increasing number of lawsuits filed against Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. over sudden unintended acceleration in millions of its vehicles.

In all, 24 lawyers made brief statements before a panel, arguing for courts and judges in California, Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, Florida, South Carolina, West Virginia and New Jersey.

Cari Dawson, a partner at Alston and Bird who is lead counsel for Toyota, argued for the Central District of California, where one-third of the cases have been filed and where her client is located.

The panel of five judges who regularly hear jurisdictional issues for multidistrict litigation raised few questions about the locations but asked lawyers to address whether the class actions should be separated from the personal injury suits. Most of the lawyers appeared to favor keeping the cases together.

The panel is expected to rule within a few weeks.

Since last fall, more than 10 million Toyota vehicles have been recalled in order to repair problems with accelerator pedals, floor mats and brakes, all of which have been identified as causing sudden and unintended acceleration. Toyota's problems have multiplied, with new reports coming out each week indicating that the Japanese automaker might have known about the acceleration issue years ago.

The vast majority of the lawsuits — nearly 90 — have been filed on behalf of a class of consumers who are seeking economic damages because their recalled Toyota vehicles have lost value. A smaller group of personal injury suits have been filed on behalf of individuals who claim to have died or been injured in an accident because their Toyota vehicles suddenly accelerated.

via Law.com – Attorneys Argue Over Venue for Toyota Litigation.