Takata subpoenaed by Federal grand jury.

In continuing coverage of the exploding Takata airbags, the company has received a subpoena to produce documents before a Federal grand jury in New York. The US Senate has scheduled a hearing on the issue to be attended by officials from Takata, Honda, and NHTSA. Also, a pregnant woman killed in Malaysia during July when she was hit by shrapnel following a car crash has been connected to the defect.

        The CBS Evening News (11/13, story 5, 0:25, Pelley, 5.08M) reports that Takata “confirmed today that it is the subject of a criminal investigation in the United States over defective air bags that it made for Honda cars.”

        Reuters (11/14, Shiraki, Saito) reports that Takata revealed that it was being investigated during a meeting with financial analysts. Reuters reports that Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said in a statement posted on the company’s websites, “Our whole company will strengthen our quality management structure and work to prevent an incident from occurring again.”

        Bloomberg News (11/14, Horie, 1.94M) reports that Hitoshi Sano, Takata’s investor relations head, said in a phone interview that he did not know when the company received the subpoena.

        The Detroit (MI) News (11/13, 504K) reports that the Senate Commerce Committee plans to hold a hearing on the matter on November 20 and will be chaired by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Aside from criticizing the companies, Nelson also said NHTSA “has not been right upfront, forward-leading and aggressive to protect the public.” The News also quotes Takada Shigehisa’s statement, in which he said “We will continue to fully cooperate in the inquiry or request of the relevant authorities.”

        Similar coverage was provided by the AP (11/13), the Detroit Free Press (11/14, 974K), Bloomberg News (11/12, 1.94M), the New York (NY) Times (11/14, Tabuchi, Subscription Publication, 9.9M), USA Today (11/13, 9.86M), Business Insider (11/14, 2.38M), and Law 360 (11/14, 18K). 

Atlee Hall Thanks Our Veterans

On November 11, 2014, Atlee Hall participated in the Injury Board’s First Annual Day of Action, to benefit the Lebanon Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and to honor our local veterans who were injured while serving our country.

The entire firm participated in honoring more than 120 veterans by sponsoring and volunteering at two Bingo parties held at the Center. Refreshments were purchased and served, and dozens of donations of “comfort items”, including socks, t-shirts, puzzles, blankets, and models were collected, packaged, and brought to the Center for the veterans to enjoy.

To read the entire article and see some additional pictures, click here.  

Takata makes changes to airbag chemicals.

In continuing coverage of the exploding Takata airbags, Reuters (11/13, Shiraki, Lienert, Klayman) reports that the company has said that it has altered the chemicals used in its airbags, though it still refuses to admit that there was a problem with the original chemicals. The officials who spoke to Reuters says that there have yet to be any reported issues with the new chemicals.

        The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Kubota, Subscription Publication, 5.62M) also reports on the formula change.

        Bloomberg News (11/13, Trudell, 1.94M) reports that Takata released a statement regarding the New York Times story in which former Takata employees allege that the company conducted secret tests on the airbags. Takata said, “The Times article confuses multiple events occurring at different times and for different purposes and thereby tells a story that is simply untrue.”

        The New York (NY) Times (11/13, Tabuchi, Subscription Publication, 9.9M) reports that the former Takata employee told the Times that Takata had confused the events, saying “We tested inflaters in 2004 from junk cars, scrapyards, for rapidly disassembling inflaters, not a cushion-tearing problem.” The employee continued, “There were two bags where the inflater showed signs of fracture.”

        Reuters (11/13) reports that Honda has issued a recall over the airbags for 170,000 more vehicles, but none of the new recalls involve cars sold in the US.

        Several outlets reported on previous news that Chrysler would begin replacing the recalled Takata airbags in December, including Edmunds (11/13, 314K), High Gear Media (11/12), and Leftlane News (11/13, 8K). 

Toyota to recall nearly 362,000 vehicles, including Camry.

The Wall Street Journal (11/12, Kubota, Subscription Publication, 5.62M) reports that Toyota Motor Corp. announced on Wednesday that it is preparing to recall around 361,800 vehicles world-wide including the Camry sedan, mostly in Japan and Europe. Toyota is recalling about 170,000 Camrys, including 120,000 in Europe and around 60 in the US, made between March 2011 and August 2014 due to defects involving faulty ball joints that may have been damaged during shipment and may cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles, according to the article. Toyota has not received any reports of crashes or injuries related to the glitches, spokeswoman Kayo Doi said in an email. 

Emails show GM ordered switches nearly two months before recall.

The AP (11/10) reports from Detroit that emails “showing that General Motors ordered a half-million replacement ignition switches nearly two months before telling the government of a safety recall will be heavily scrutinized by federal prosecutors, who are investigating GM’s conduct, according to legal experts.” The email chain, “released Monday by an attorney suing GM, again raises questions about how forthcoming GM has been with safety regulators and lawmakers, as well as a GM-funded investigation into the defective switches by former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas.” The email chain “from December through February shows that a contract employee for GM inquired about the parts on Dec. 18, 2013, and ordered them from Delphi the following day, in preparation to replace parts on 500,000 to over 700,000 vehicles,” but GM “did not report a safety defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration until 51 days later, on Feb. 7, 2014.”

        The Detroit Free Press (11/10, Gardner, 974K) reports that GM CEO Mary Barra “said she learned in late December when she headed the company’s global product development group that GM employees were reviewing safety issues related to the Chevrolet Cobalt,” but “she didn’t learn that there would be a recall until near the end of January.”

        

Honoring Our Vetrans

On November 11, 2014, Atlee Hall participated in a Day of Action, to benefit the Lebanon Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and to honor our local veterans who were injured while serving our country.
The entire firm participated in honoring more than 120 veterans by sponsoring and volunteering at two Bingo parties held at the Center. Refreshments were purchased and served, and dozens of donations of “comfort items”, including socks, t-shirts, puzzles, blankets, and models were collected, packaged, and brought to the Center for the veterans to enjoy.
While the donations and sponsorship were much appreciated, it became obvious fairly early that what meant most to the Vets was the simple presence of the volunteers and the fact that employees of a law firm, with whom no one had any prior association, gave their time to make Veteran’s Day special. Let us be clear—these are all brave, heroic individuals injured while serving our country—ranging in time from World War II to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Most, if not all, were injured during the prime of their lives. Why would a group who has sacrificed so much to protect our liberty and freedom find it so difficult to conceive that others would want to honor and support them in return? To the Lebanon Veterans, an unpretentious smile, a pat on the back, help marking a number on a Bingo card, and a compassionate gesture meant their sacrifices were appreciated and thus, meant the world to them.
Yet, after speaking with some of the firm’s participants a day later, it is apparent that WE benefitted more from the experience than we could ever give. Our employees consistently remarked that they would participate again; in a heartbeat. Everyone knows why. St. Francis of Assisi once wrote “For it is in giving that we receive”. There is not a more appropriate adage.

Takata believed to have conducted secret tests on airbags.

In continuing coverage of the exploding Takata airbags, the New York (NY) Times (11/7, Tabuchi, Subscription Publication, 9.9M) reports in a front page story that two former Takata employees are saying that the company “secretly conducted tests on 50 airbags” in 2004. The Times reports that the employees claim that two of the 50 airbags tested had their steel inflaters crack during testing, “a condition that can lead to rupture.” However, the employees say that Takata did not inform safety regulators and instead “Takata executives discounted the results, and ordered the lab technicians to delete the testing data from their computers and dispose of the airbag inflaters in the trash.” The Times reports that Honda has previously said “said it was assured by Takata in 2004 that the episode in Alabama, which involved a 2002 Honda Accord, was an anomaly.” Honda spokesman Chris Martin said in a statement, “This is a serious allegation about actions taken by Takata. It is our intention to determine whether anyone at Honda has any evidence that these claims are credible.” ,

        Other outlets reported on the Times’ coverage, including USA Today (11/6, 9.86M), Reuters (11/7), and The Oregonian (11/7, 690K).

        Honda expands airbag campaign to recall. Bloomberg News (11/7, Trudell, 1.94M) reports that Honda upgraded its campaign to replace Takata airbags in the US from a safety campaign to a formal recall. Bloomberg reports that NHTSA told car owners of affected vehicles that they should take their vehicles to have the airbags replaced.

        The AP (11/6) reports that the upgrade “comes just a few days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded information in an investigation from Honda about its air bag recalls.”

        Similar coverage was provided by the Wall Street Journal (11/7, Rogers, Kubota, Subscription Publication, 5.62M), Bloomberg BusinessWeek (11/6, 2.52M), and Reuters (11/7).