April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korean actor and singer Son Ji-chang and his attorney made it clear they are are confident of winning the case against Tesla Motors should the US automaker go through with litigation filed against it for sudden unintended acceleration.

“If it is one or two accidents that makes tougher to prove. But when you are looking at the number of accidents that all seems to be sort of the same, that is pretty powerful proof that there is a problem beyond just the driver’s mistake,“ said Richard McCune of McCune Wright Arevalo LLP in an interview with The Investor on Jan.7. 

McCune Wright Arevalo is the same law firm that filed the first class action lawsuit against Toyota in 2009 that resulted in Toyota settling class claims of up to $1.6 billion.

The attorney was referring to the string of sudden unintended acceleration cases that have plagued Tesla’s cars.

Further, McCune said his firm was seeking to enlist support from US auto satefy investigators to pressure Tesla into carrying out a recall of its Model X vehicles.

“What we are asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to do is to open up an investigation as to whether there is a sudden acceleration problem with these vehicles ... an investigation is the first step in getting a recall.”

“Our main objective is to get this fixed, whether it’s the government or through the lawsuit. That’s not as nearly important to us if it checks before somebody gets hurt really bad.”

On Dec. 30, Son filed a litigation seeking class action status against Tesla in California, after discovering eight cases of unintended acceleration cases involving the Model X were reported to the NHTSA. Son claimed his Model X unexpectedly accelerated at full power while he was trying to park inside his garage, causing him to crash through the wall and into his living room, injuring him and his son.

However, Tesla denied that its Model X -- once touted as “the safest SUV ever made” by its founder Elon Musk –- suffers from defects. Instead, it said the crash was entirely Son’s fault. Tesla also accused Son of blackmail.

Both Son and his attorney dismissed Tesla’s claims.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)