Automakers to provide up to US$130 million for Takata’s US settlement

WILMINGTON: A group of 13 automakers will contribute as much as US$130 million to compensate those injured by faulty Takata Corp air bag inflators as part of a deal to resolve the Japanese company’s bankruptcy, a US plaintiffs’ attorney told Reuters.

The agreement clears the way for the sale of Takata’s noninflator business to Key Safety Systems, a unit of China’s Ningo Joyson Electric Corp, for US$1.6 billion, helping to ensure a steady supply of car parts for the world’s biggest automakers.

Takata and its US unit, TK Holdings Inc, filed for bankruptcy last year in the wake of the world’s largest automotive safety recall, triggered by air bag inflators that can explode with excessive force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks.

Attorney Joe Rice of Motley Rice, who represents dozens of personal injury plaintiffs in the bankruptcy, said the deal, which was disclosed in court papers on Saturday, was aimed at keeping Takata operations afloat so it could make replacement inflator kits.

Tens of millions of air bags with the inflators have been recalled but not yet replaced.

In an interview late on Monday, Rice said the group of 13 automakers would contribute about US$80 million to US$130 million to Takata’s bankruptcy estate to help compensate those injured by the Takata inflators.

In return for the automakers’ contribution, a committee of injured drivers dropped their objection to TK Holdings’ proposed bankruptcy exit plan. The plan will be presented to a US judge on Friday for approval.

Victims of the faulty inflators will also be able to collect from a separate US$125 million compensation fund created as part of a plea deal Takata entered with the US Department of Justice early last year.

As part of that plea, automakers will receive their share of an US$850 million restitution fund.

Rice said funds from the Justice Department settlement and the bankruptcy are likely to fall short of full compensation for injured drivers, but they will still be able to sue the car manufacturers.

The one exception is Honda Motor Co, which agreed to create a trust to ensure injuries linked to its vehicles will be compensated in full, according to Rice. He said Honda also will not contest fault for the injuries.

At least 22 deaths and hundreds of injuries worldwide are linked to the Takata inflators.

Honda has faced the greatest number of air bag-related claims of the automakers, and 20 of the deaths have occurred in Honda vehicles, most of which were in the United States.

In return for funding the trust, Honda will be shielded from further lawsuits. That also means it will not face the risk of punitive damages. — Reuters