Toyota may have a tough time defending itself in lawsuits over flaws in its vehicles after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood found the company 'knowingly hid a dangerous defect.' The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Monday proposed a record civil penalty of $16.4 million, less than 2 percent of Toyota's projected net profit for the year ending March 31, related to a January recall of 2.3 million U.S. autos for accelerator pedals that allegedly stick. Toyota failed to act in a timely manner after knowing of the problem since at least September 2009, LaHood said. The NHTSA finding is useful for plaintiffs in lawsuits even if it won't be admitted as evidence in trials, said Professor Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law. 'It's something that plaintiffs' lawyers can capitalize on in settlement negotiations or in asking judges for broader discovery,' Tobias said. In seeking company documents, 'they could point to the government's finding,' he said. A Toyota spokeswoman, Martha Voss, declined to comment Tuesday. 'We have already taken a number of important steps to improve our communications with regulators and customers on safety-related matters as part of our strengthened overall commitment to quality assurance,' the company said Monday in a statement. 'These include the appointment of a new Chief Quality Officer for North America and a greater role for the region in making safety-related decisions.' Toyota faces at least 177 suits seeking class-action, or group, status and at least 56 individual suits over sudden acceleration. The assessment by LaHood and NHTSA won't be admitted directly as evidence in trials against the company, said W. Mark Lanier, a Houston attorney who has filed class-action and individual lawsuits related to the claims. 'It's not like a criminal finding in that there was due process,' Lanier said. 'The underlying facts that prompted the fine will come into evidence.' The proposed fine may be admitted to rebut any assertions by Toyota that the government never found anything wrong with its vehicles, Lanier said. It won't be allowed in a personal-injury suit because it's irrelevant to the cause of a particular accident, he said. LaHood's evaluation that Toyota hid a defect would be admissible in lawsuits brought by investors claiming the carmaker failed to disclose material information, driving down the value of company shares, the lawyer said. The class actions typically include claims that Toyota deceived consumers by withholding information about problems that could cause sudden acceleration or misrepresenting the safety of the vehicles. Most allege fraud or deceptive trade practices. Some suits include claims of violations of civil racketeering law through 'failures to disclose and misrepresentations that their cars were safe,' said Ohio attorney Robert Steinberg of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley in Cincinnati. The NHTSA finding supports 'our RICO claim of mail and wire fraud based on Toyota's misrepresentations,' he said, referring to the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. 'We think the misrepresentations also include statements that were limited to floor mats or sticking pedals' as causes of sudden acceleration, Steinberg said. More than half of the lawsuits contend that such incidents may be caused by a flaw in the electronic throttle control in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The proposed fine 'certainly bolsters our cases,' said Robert Nelson of San Francisco-based Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, which has filed 20 suits for individuals claiming injuries or deaths caused by sudden-acceleration incidents. 'It demonstrates Toyota has been less than forthright with the U.S. government and with consumers.' The proposed penalty came after Toyota, the world's largest automaker, last week reported U.S. sales rose 41 percent in March with the help of no-interest loans and discount leases, a sign that it was winning back some consumers after recalling more than 8 million vehicles worldwide. The Japanese automaker waited at least four months before telling the agency that accelerator pedals might stick, LaHood said Monday in a statement. Companies have five business days to report safety defects, the agency said. 'We now have proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations,' LaHood said. 'Worse yet, they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families.' The $16.4 million fine is the largest that could legally be assessed against Toyota. The carmaker will probably concede to pay the fine, Kyodo News reported today, citing people familiar with the matter. In February, Toyota forecast a return to annual profit and a 51 percent surge in North American sales even as the company faces its worst recall crisis. The company expects net income of $880 million in the year ending March 31, compared with an earlier forecast for a 200 billion yen loss, it said Feb. 4 in a statement in Tokyo. The proposed fine is too little to harm the company financially, Lanier said. 'What we'll be trying to do is assess a real fine' through jury trials, he said. The lawyer has filed two personal injury cases and is considering filing about 100 others, including a dozen involving deaths, he said. 