Toyota has routinely engaged in questionable, evasive and deceptive legal tactics when sued, frequently claiming it does not have information it is required to turn over and sometimes even ignoring court orders to produce key documents, an Associated Press investigation shows.

In a review of lawsuits filed around the country involving a wide range of complaints — not just the sudden acceleration problems that have led to millions of Toyotas being recalled — the automaker has hidden the existence of tests that would be harmful to its legal position and claimed key material was difficult to get at its headquarters in Japan. It has withheld potentially damaging documents and refused to release data stored electronically in its vehicles.

Nearly 200 lawsuits have been filed so far in federal and state courts throughout the country. The litigation involves both individual personal injury suits and consumer class actions filed on behalf of Toyota owners who claim that the value of their vehicles has been battered by concerns about sudden unintended acceleration.

Birmingham is now the site of an investigation into a fatal wreck involving a Toyota Camry. Attorneys are suing the automaker over an accident that killed one elderly woman and seriously injured another. "There's a problem out there and these cars are killing people," said attorney Cole Portis.

A Montgomery jury has ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay $2.75 million to the estate of a woman who was killed July 2007 when her 1999 Ford Explorer rolled over during a crash. The jury returned the judgment Friday after several hours of deliberation.

A Montgomery County jury awarded the estate of Catherine Parker $2.75 million against Ford Motor Company today. Parker was killed in July 2007 when her 1999 Ford Explorer rolled over during a crash. Beasley Allen attorneys Benjamin E. Baker, J. Cole Portis and J. Greg Allen represented Parker's estate against defendant Ford Motor Company.

The law firm that helped pry a $4.9 billion settlement out of Merck over its Vioxx painkiller and an Ohio lawyer best known for suing over airplane disasters and silicone breast implants have filed would-be class-actions against Toyota, upping the stakes facing the Japanese automaker over allegedly sticky gas pedals.

Attorneys rarely get a hand. Public opinion polls often have lawyers down there near the bottom with us journalists on the credibility scale. "Most people don't care for attorneys unless they need one," said Jere Beasley. One of Alabama's most prominent trial lawyers, Beasley makes no apologies for sponsoring a continuing education expo for attorneys from all over the state. The majority are trial lawyers, the rest specializing in other areas.

So much confusion has arisen from Toyota's announcement to recall 3.8 million vehicles because of their potential to accelerate suddenly and unexpectedly. While Toyota zeroed in on driver's side floor mats as the cause of the problem, saying that they could slide forward and jam the accelerator pedal in full open position, several media venues speculated about the solution. Would the fix amount to a simple floor mat repair? Or would it involve redesigning the gas pedal and / or the electronic-based braking and accelerator controls?

Merck & Co. is paying claims by the families of more than 3,100 users of its Vioxx painkiller who died of heart attacks or strokes blamed on the drug, according to a law firm administering a $4.85 billion settlement fund.

A man says he got hepatitis from taking Havoc, a diet supplement. He claims Recomp Performance Nutrition failed to warn about the "risk, dangers and adverse side effects" of the drug, which is not approved by the FDA.