The attorney for Koua Fong Lee isn't sure how much three years of a man's life are worth, but he's setting his sights high.
Attorney Bob Hilliard wondered: How do you put a price tag on missing the first three years of your children's lives or on depriving your family of your support?
A lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on behalf of Lee and his family against Toyota Motor Corp. didn't specify a dollar figure. And Hilliard, an attorney from Corpus Christi, Texas, wouldn't speculate Tuesday about what he might ask a jury to award. But he noted that a verdict against Ford Motor Co. in 1987 came in at "over $100 million."
The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lee; his wife, Panghoua Moua; their four children, and his brother and father, who were injured in a 2006 crash that ultimately killed three people and sent Lee to prison.
The suit alleges that Toyota knew about safety problems in its cars but failed to fix them or warn customers.
The suit was not unexpected but was a long time coming. A week ago, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan ruled that Lee could intervene in a lawsuit brought against the automaker by Bridgette Trice, whose 7-year-old daughter, Devyn Bolton, died as a result of the accident caused by Lee's 1996 Camry.
Celeste Migliore, national business and field communications manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA, said in a statement: "We sympathize with all of the families affected by this incident, and we did not oppose Mr. Lee's plan to file his complaint against Toyota in this related federal court case. However, Toyota believes that any unintended acceleration allegations are without merit. The 1996 Camry involved in this case has never been subject to an acceleration-related recall and is designed to meet or exceed all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards."
Lee, 33, of St. Paul, was driving his family home from their Minneapolis church on June 10, 2006, a sunny Saturday afternoon, and took the Snelling Avenue exit ramp off Interstate 94. Lee insisted from the start that he frantically pressed the brake pedal, but instead of slowing down, the car sped up. Experts estimated it was going up to 90 miles per hour when it slammed into an Oldsmobile Ciera. The driver, Javis Trice Adams, 33, and his son, Javis Adams Jr., 9, died at the scene. Devyn was left a quadriplegic and died about 18 months later.
