A US FEDERAL judge has ruled that Toyota car owners in the United States can pursue claims that the company caused the value of their vehicle to fall by not disclosing or fixing electronic defects in their cars which caused sudden acceleration.

Toyota has recalled millions of cars in the US and worldwide since 2009 after complaints and claims relating sticking accelerator pedals and problems with car mats which could press on the accelerator pedal. The recall sparked a number of claims relating to sudden accelerator issues in Toyota vehicles.

Bloomberg reports that Judge James Selna ruled: “Taking these allegations as true, as the court must at the pleading stage, they establish an economic loss. A vehicle with a defect is worth less than one without a defect”.

The car company denies there was any evidence of such electronic defects, Reuters reports. Lawyer Steve Berman, who is representing some of the car owners affected, said his team would prove that Toyota were aware of the defect and chose not to act on that information.

Meanwhile, Toyota continues to experience manufacturing delays following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which damaged and destroyed some of their key parts suppliers.

- Additional reporting by the AP