On June 8, 2015, the Vachon Law Firm filed a class action lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court against Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, which does business under the fictitious business names “Toyota Financial Services” and “Lexus Financial Services.” The lawsuit proposes to litigate the legal claims of three defined classes of California consumers, all of whom leased automobiles in California pursuant to lease contracts that were assigned to Toyota/Lexus Financial Services, and who had their vehicles repossessed by Toyota/Lexus Financial Services. The lawsuit is titled Thomas v. Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, et al. (Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC584530).
If you think that you may be a member of one of the proposed classes, please contact the Vachon Law Firm immediately, using the Toyota Financial Services Class Action Contact Form on this website. To determine whether you can potentially be included in this class action, check the requirements listed below or on the contact form page. If you qualify to be included in the classes, we will tell you how you can participate in and potentially benefit from this class action lawsuit.
Allegations in Lawsuit Against Toyota Financial Services & Lexus Financial Services
The plaintiff in the Thomas v. Toyota Motor Credit Corporation, et al. lawsuit is a San Rafael, California consumer who leased a Toyota Camry from a Northern California Toyota dealership in May 2014. According to the complaint, Toyota Financial Services is the lessor or holder the plaintiff’s lease contract, and repossessed the Toyota Camry in February 2015.
The 43-page class action complaint goes on to allege that Toyota Financial Services thereafter sent the plaintiff a post-repossession notice announcing its intent to sell the Toyota Camry, which itemized the amounts that he supposedly owed under his lease contract (to see a sample post-repossession notice, click on image to the right). It is alleged in the complaint that Toyota Financial Services unlawfully inflated the sum of the “Adjusted Lease Balance” and “Accrued but unpaid lease payments” amounts in the post-repossession notice by calculating these charges based on the presumption that the Toyota Camry’s lease contract terminated on a date that was after the date on which Toyota Financial Services repossessed the vehicle.
The complaint further alleges that Toyota Financial Services thereafter sold the Toyota Camry and then sent the plaintiff a final account statement that contained additional inflated charges (for a sample final account statement, click on image to the left). In particular, the plaintiff alleges in the lawsuit’s complaint that his final account statement ostensibly contained a credit for the refundable security deposit that he had previously paid, but that Toyota Financial Services inflated the amount of another one of the charges in the account statement by the same amount, thereby offsetting and effectively eliminating the credit for the refundable security deposit previously paid by the plaintiff. The complaint alleges that Toyota Financial Services did this in order to create the appearance that the security deposit was being refunded, when in reality it was effectively being withheld. The complaint goes on to allege that the final account statement unlawfully included repossession, storage, reconditioning, transportation, sale, and auction charges that were greater than the amounts of such charges disclosed in the notice of intent that Toyota Financial Services had previously sent to the plaintiff.
Based on these allegations, the class action complaint asserts nine causes of action against Toyota/Lexus Financial Services on behalf of three proposed classes of consumers. These include multiple causes of action alleging violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law statute. The complaint also seeks declaratory relief on behalf of all three of the proposed classes. Specifically, the complaint prays for order from the court prohibiting Toyota/Lexus Financial Services from attempting to collect deficiency balances from the proposed class members and ordering it to refund any lease deficiency balances that it has already collected from the class members.
Click below to read a copy of the class action complaint against Toyota/Lexus Financial Services that was filed on June 8, 2015 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Note: the Los Angeles County Superior Court has not yet made any determination of whether or not the facts alleged in the complaint are true, whether Toyota Motor Credit Corporation violated any applicable laws, or whether the lawsuit can proceed as a class action. Toyota Motor Credit Corporation is expected to deny the complaint’s allegations when it answers in the lawsuit.
Vachon Law Firm Looking For Other Consumers Who Leased Automobiles Were Repossessed by Toyota Financial Services or Lexus Financial Services
The Vachon Law Firm is currently attempting to gather evidence in support of the class action lawsuit’s allegations. Attorney Michael R. Vachon, Esq., the founder of the Vachon Law Firm, is looking for and attempting to contact California consumers who leased automobiles were previously repossessed by either Toyota Financial Services or Lexus Financial Services.
If you meet the requirements listed below, then please contact the Vachon Law Firm as soon as possible using the Toyota Financial Services Class Action Contact Form on this website:
- you leased a vehicle from a car dealership located in California;
- you made lease payments to Toyota Financial Services or Lexus Financial Services;
- Toyota Financial Services or Lexus Financial Services repossessed your leased automobile;
- on or after June 8, 2011, Toyota Financial Services or Lexus Financial Services sent you a notice of intent to sell your repossessed vehicle (click for a sample picture of this notice); and
- Toyota Financial Services or Lexus Financial Services later sent you an “Early Termination Account Statement,” which purported to itemize the amounts that you owe under your lease contract (click to see picture of a sample post-repossession final account statement).
If you satisfy these requirements, please contact us using the Toyota Financial Services Class Action Contact Form. You can also call us toll free at 1-855-4-LEMON-LAW (1-855-453-6665). If you call, be sure to tell the person who answers that you are calling about the Toyota Financial Services class action lawsuit.