Congress Backs Away From Biller

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Yesterday I asked our Best and Brightest if congress should hear testimony from former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller. The lack of unqualified endorsements mirrored my own skepticism about the testimony of a guy who has sued Toyota several times, and today it seems that congress may just agree. When the House Oversight Committee wrote Toyota’s Yoshimi Inaba asking for a response to Biller’s accusations, it attached several of Biller’s apparently damning documents to its letter [ PDF of original letter and attached Biller documents here]. But, as the Detroit News reports, the letter has been reposted without the attached Biller documents after Toyota claimed they violated attorney-client privilege (the alleged internal memos all have non-disclosure requests attached). Senate hearings on the Toyota recall have just started, and are available at Cspan.org.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
 4 comments
  • Steven02 Steven02 on Mar 02, 2010

    Where is the part of the article where Congress backs away from Biller? It seems to me that the documents, that are currently sealed by court order, shouldn't have been posted anyway. But where is Congress backing away from Biller?

  • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on Mar 02, 2010

    Ed, your link "PDF of letter..." links to the Inaba presentation from 2009 (wasn't Biller well out of TMC by then?) ... and no letter... Re. the reposted letter from Townes to Toyoda, answers are due Mar 12th ... I expect to see fireworks again... (esp. regarding the Electronic Knowledge Books.)

    • See 1 previous
    • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on Mar 03, 2010

      Thanks. In the meantime, I read the Biller documents posted on the detnews.com website ... 1st document re. negotiations in the Green case is a very interesting study in the psychology, tactics and tools of negotiation both direct and via a 3rd party, but seemingly very normal and I see nothing contraversial in it (comment: how one can buy a car, van, b.s. and m.s. and be independent for 300k is beyond me.) 2nd document re. supporting and preparing for internal discovery, and the poor support for a legal obligation shown from TMC (i.e. the japanese mothership), and the risk that outside council will bail (presumably out for fear of being disbared) ... this if taken in together with the Jim Press presentation, and the "know-nothing" testimony before the senate committee, are a co-con-damning condemnation combination (I was trying to go for alliteration in these last 3 words ... don't think I made it though).

Next