Attorneys preparing for Toyota lawsuits

SAN DIEGO — More than 150 attorneys are meeting in San Diego to sharpen their legal tools on the eve of a major federal court hearing on whether dozens of Toyota acceleration cases will be consolidated before a single judge.

The main topic at Wednesday’s conference was a hearing scheduled before a panel of federal judges on Thursday. The judges will decide whether to combine more than 100 Toyota lawsuits.

So far 19 jurisdictions have been suggested. They include California, Florida, Kentucky and even Puerto Rico. The panel is not required to pick from that list.

Toyota faces an avalanche of lawsuits that potentially could cost the company billions of dollars following its recall of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide over sudden unexpected acceleration.