Toyota Motor Corporation's former in-house lawyer for rollover cases suddenly turned over hundreds of documents to a federal judge in Texas today in an apparent move to support his allegations that the automaker concealed and destroyed evidence in at least 300 accident cases.
Dimitrios Biller made a surprise visit to the federal courthouse in Marshall, Texas after arriving from California with four large banker boxes sealed with tape and stamped with airline shipping labels. Biller, the former National Managing Counsel in charge of Toyota's National Rollover Program, and his attorney delivered the boxes to the office of federal District Judge T. John Ward.
The boxes and their contents were labeled as four exhibits in a fraud lawsuit filed by Dallas Attorney Todd Tracy. Todd Tracy had just obtained a sweeping restraining order against Toyota to prevent document destruction and is seeking to reopen 17 accident cases in the wake of Biller's revelations.
"This is clearly information that Toyota does not want the public to see. Now it has found a safe haven from shredders. These boxes may contain the only surviving evidence of the cover-up and destruction of evidence alleged by Mr. Biller. Toyota's accident victims need to see the information inside these boxes immediately to find out if the Japanese auto giant perverted the course of American justice."
Biller worked as a lawyer for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., from 2003 to 2007. Biller's surprise delivery to the East Texas courthouse appeared to thwart attempts by Toyota to put the documents under seal.
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