Judge Tosses Toyota Case Due to Damage Threshold

A federal judge in California has dismissed a case against Toyota Motor Corp. that was supposed to be the first to reach trial out of hundreds of sudden acceleration complaints filed in federal court.

U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna ruled Thursday that the court doesn’t have jurisdiction because damages could not reach a $50,000 threshold under the law.

He found the proper jurisdiction is instead Utah state court.

Selna had previously indicated he would allow the case to move forward in federal court.

The trial was one of several bellwether cases expected to determine how other cases would proceed.

The company has recalled more than 14 million vehicles worldwide due to acceleration problems in several models and brake defects with the Prius hybrid.