Nine years ago, in 2015, a male shareholder caused damage to the company over the issue of the former Toyo Rubber Industries manufacturing seismic isolation devices that did not meet national standards and being used in buildings across the country. The Osaka District Court accepted the shareholder's lawsuit and ordered the former management to pay a total of over 150 million yen to the company.
Nine years ago, it was discovered that seismic isolation devices manufactured by Toyo Rubber Industries, now known as TOYO TIRE, whose data had been falsified to meet national standards, were being used in 154 buildings across the country, including condominiums and hospitals. It became clear.
Regarding this issue, the shareholder, a male shareholder, made the decision to suspend shipments and send the seismic isolation devices to the government, even though there was suspicion that the seismic isolation devices they manufactured did not meet national evaluation standards. The company filed a lawsuit alleging that the company failed to report the incident and caused damage to the company.
In a ruling on the 26th, Osaka District Court Chief Judge Takenori Tanimura said, ``Despite the fact that the two former directors were in a position to ensure that products that did not meet the evaluation standards were not shipped, they neglected their duty of care and caused the company to fail. The former president and other management team's failure to promptly report the matter to the government significantly damaged the credibility of the company.''The former management team ordered the company to pay a total of over 150 million yen. I ordered four people.
In this case, Toyo Tire & Rubber Industries and its management at the time were not held criminally liable, and the focus was on how civil liability would be determined.
Plaintiff: ``I'm very happy with the good result.''
After the verdict, the plaintiff, who held a press conference in Osaka, said, ``It took a lot of courage to litigate on my own because of the fraudulent seismic isolation system, which is a matter that affects people's lives, but it turned out to be a good result.'' I'm very happy. I think society will improve if other companies realize that they can't commit fraud."
Naofumi Yura, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said, ``The court's decision to warn against the cover-up of scandals and to hold that a delay in disclosure would result in a breach of duty of care is groundbreaking.''
On the other hand, TOYO TIRE said, ``We take seriously the recognition of the former director's responsibility.Following this incident, the company has reformed its management structure, strengthened governance, and continued to ensure compliance.'' We will continue to work hard to ensure this is done,'' he said.