Marathon Pundit: Questions surround self-appointed Toyota investigator

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Questions surround self-appointed Toyota investigator

I've decided to take a closer look at the Toyota story. Later today, Akio Toyoda, will testify in front of a House of Representatives committee about the sudden acceleration problem of some of its cars.

Some people see blood it the water, such as Sean Kane. He runs a for-profit company that investigates automobile firms--using lawsuits as its muscle. As Toyota problems have multiplied, it is Kane who is cited as an expert.

From a February 13 Wall Street Journal article--paid subscription required.

Unlike nonprofit organizations doing similar work, Mr. Kane's firm is in business to make money, often by working with attorneys who file suits against the auto makers that it investigates. He declined to reveal how much revenue or profit the firm generates.

Some in the auto industry criticize Mr. Kane's for-profit model. Jason Vines, who was vice president for public affairs at Ford Motor Co. during its crisis with Explorer sport-utility-vehicle rollovers a decade ago, lumps Mr. Kane into what he calls "supposed safety advocates who are actually just shills for trial attorneys." Mr. Kane, who was a catalyst in the Explorer recalls, said the paid work allows the firm to pursue public-interest issues, such as alerting federal agencies to the lack of side airbags on certain fleet cars.

Now Mr. Kane is back in the spotlight. Two weeks ago, his firm released a 51-page report that alleged at least 2,262 Toyota and Lexus owners have reported sudden acceleration that resulted in 815 crashes, 341 injuries and 19 deaths since 1999. About half of the complaints involved vehicles not included in any current Toyota recalls, according to the report.

The automaker has not been able to verify Kane's claims, and it is conducting itw own investigation.

More:

Mr. Kane said his latest report wasn't produced as a direct result of funding from a particular lawsuit against Toyota. Yet lawyers often pay him a consulting fee to review individual crashes, listen to depositions, advise lawyers on questions and strategies, and produce analyses of crash trends using National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. He does not receive a bonus or a percentage of any settlement in such cases, he said.