Koua Fong Lee went to prison because he was unable to STOP his RUNAWAY TOYOTA CAMRY!
Instead of fixing TOYOTAS.....restoring their reputation for dependability....
TOYOTA hires gaggles of attorneys to flood our courts with nonsense.....
Toyota, told to pay $10.9 million in car crash, wants driver to pay $4 million
- Article by: RANDY FURST , Star Tribune
- Updated: February 17, 2015 - 11:26 PM
The carmaker wants driver Koua Fong Lee to pay $4 million of its $10.9 million settlement.
The Toyota Motor Co., which was ordered by a jury to pay $10.9 million as a result of a fatal accident in St. Paul, has asked U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery to make Koua Fong Lee pay more than $4 million of the award because the jury found Lee 40 percent at fault in the crash.
Bob Hilliard, the Texas attorney who represented Lee in the federal trial that ended earlier this month, was informed of the motion by a reporter. Hilliard called the proposal “baseless and desperate.”
Hilliard said that Toyota never filed a counterclaim against Lee, 37, the driver of the 1996 Toyota Camry. “They never brought him in as a third-party defendant,” Hilliard said. “They can’t now seek a contribution from him. It’s ridiculous.”
Following a three-week trial and about four days of deliberation, the jury of six men and six women on Feb. 3 found Toyota 60 percent at fault and Lee 40 percent at fault in the June 10, 2006, accident in St. Paul.
Lee’s attorneys argued that two nylon accelerator pulleys became stuck as Lee exited from eastbound Interstate 94 at Snelling Avenue, and despite efforts by Lee to apply the brakes, his Camry gained speed and rear-ended a 1995 Oldsmobile Ciera which was sitting at a stoplight at Snelling and Concordia. Toyota claimed Lee accidentally stepped on the gas pedal rather than the brakes.
The driver of the Ciera, Javis Trice-Adams, and his son, Javis Jr., 9, were killed instantly in the crash.
Devyn Bolton, 6, the daughter of his ex-wife, Bridgette Trice, sustained serious injuries and died more than a year later.
In one motion filed Tuesday, signed by Toyota attorney Bard Borkon, Toyota said that 40 percent of the $10.9 million in damages that Toyota must pay totals $4.076 million. “The $1,250,000 the jury awarded to him would offset some of the $4,076,000, but he would still owe Toyota $2,826,000,” the motion stated, adding that Lee should pay that amount.
Toyota also sought reductions in other payouts awarded to victims of the crash. For example, it said that Bridgette Trice was paid through insurance $1 million for medical expenses for her daughter, and $6,407 in funeral expenses. The $4 million Toyota was ordered to pay Trice and the little girl’s grandmother should be reduced by that amount, the Toyota attorneys wrote.
Similarly they asked that Quincy Adams, the little girl’s grandfather, who was also injured in the crash and received $1.25 million in the jury decision, should have it cut by $77,894 which were medical expenses for which he was already reimbursed.
Jemee Lee, Koua Fong Lee’s daughter, who got $150,000, should have her award reduced by $19,768 that she got through insurance, the Toyota motion said.
Jassmine Adams, who was also in the Ciera, was awarded $4 million for serious leg injuries she sustained that will require more surgery. She should have her payout reduced by $30,000 which she received from Lee’s insurer, the Toyota attorneys said.
The company also asked for several other reductions based on insurance payments.
Minnesota law requires attorneys seeking to have a jury award reduced for collateral payouts must file motions within 10 days of when the judgment is formally entered in court records.
Hilliard, Lee’s attorney, said Tuesday, “It’s amazing the world’s largest car company is now trying to nickel and dime this judgment and go after these very modest-income, working-class people.”
A Toyota spokesman said the company’s attorneys would not comment.
The lawyers also filed a motion asking for a hearing before Montgomery on April 22 or as soon thereafter that it can be scheduled.
THE PAID TOYOTA SHILLS ARE AT WORK!
How do you know who's a TOYOTA SHILL?
THE TOYOTA SHILLS resort to:
NAME CALLING
INTRODUCE FALSE ACCUSATIONS [such as Koua Fong Lee was intoxicated, when in fact, he was returning from church and no evidence of such has ever been presented]
MISREPRESENT THE FACTS or MAKE UP THEIR OWN
Continue to repeat the same lies
and much else clearly revealed in their comments
Thanks Toyota! You just made my next car purchase easy. I'll be sticking with Honda. Shut up and pay the damages. Trying to reduce the judgment to family members who lost their loved ones by nickel and diming this and that (and to Toyota it is nickel and diming) just convinced me.
For those that don't like it ....guess what??? This is America. In America juries are the finders of fact. The jury spoke. You may not like their decision, but you also weren't privy to much of the information which they had
For those that don't like it ....guess what??? This is America. In America juries are the finders of fact. The jury spoke. You may not like their decision, but you also weren't privy to much of the information which they had
NHTSA still has no documentation on suggested repair or maintenance on any of this equipment for 1996 camry's. The only thing close is a recall on cruise control acceleration with a recall date 10 yrs before this accident occurred. That recall makes no reference to breaks [sic] not working or not being able to auto turn off cruise control.
These 1996 camry's are almost 20 yrs old now. Every time this story comes up, I feel bad for everyone involved. But the party I get upset with is NHTSA. They've had ample time to put this issue to rest. Either there is a problem or not. They are the ones that have to use science, engineering, and facts to prove a problem does exist and to what extent.
These 1996 camry's are almost 20 yrs old now. Every time this story comes up, I feel bad for everyone involved. But the party I get upset with is NHTSA. They've had ample time to put this issue to rest. Either there is a problem or not. They are the ones that have to use science, engineering, and facts to prove a problem does exist and to what extent.
What poor PR on Toyota's part. My last three cars I purchased were Toyotas. I've lost a lot of respect for Toyota with their tactics in this case. I think I'm done buying Toyotas.
gutshot
Ok folks, this is tactical. Toyota is upping the ante to force a settlement that will vacate the verdict. It does not give a rip about this case except for the bad precedent it sets for many other cases. Google res judicata/collateral estoppel.
JohnnyRockran
I will never buy another Toyota as long as I live, or at least until I see some of Toyota's "top brass" agree to spend 60% of Mr. Lee's time in prison behind bars.
csjohn1
As a Toyota Camry owner, Toyota's actions/inactions are shameful. Sorry, Toyota, you lost me as a customer.
csjohn1
@aqualungman "Tort Reform" is nothing less that a GOP gift to corporations. Limit liability on malpractice and misfeasance only encourages bad behavior. Tell me aqualungman, if your brand new regulator failed because of design or manufacturing flaws and you suffered irrecoverable brain damage would a gross limit on compensation be okay with you and your caregivers? We should not protect corporations from liability. GAD!!
codger1016
I have owned several Toyotas in the past. Never again.
Mtka
@codger1016 I have owned 3 Toyota Corollas. I have been driving the current one for 18 years. At 103,000 miles it is starting to show a little rust around the back wheel wells. The body will go long before the engine does.
That said, I am rethinking which brand to go with in the future.
Toyota - do the right thing and foot the entire bill. This man spent two years away from his young family. He has paid enough. Don't tarnish your image any further.
berrymom
That said, I am rethinking which brand to go with in the future.
Toyota - do the right thing and foot the entire bill. This man spent two years away from his young family. He has paid enough. Don't tarnish your image any further.
@codger1016 I've never owned one, and certainly won't now. There is nothing wrong with letting your pocketbook speak for your moral values. It's no longer about the quality of the vehicles; it is about the honor and integrity of the management of Toyota.
rshackleford
rshackleford
JUST MY OPINION....AT THE MOMENT!
Why did Toyota OK the use of nylon pulleys in something so extremely important as the accelerator cable routing? A hint: they can MELT and WARP plus become brittle after heating and cooling over many years time.
I want to ask that question to the engineer that proposed and had the design approved. Were metal pulleys just that much more expensive?
I want to ask that question to the engineer that proposed and had the design approved. Were metal pulleys just that much more expensive?
@aqualungman Two minutes of research shows that engineering grade nylon (called "Nylon 6-6") has a melting temperature of 516F. And, if the engineering grade was not used, that temp is much lower.
That is the MELTING point. I bet warping (due to softening of the nylon) occurs at a much lower temperature, especially with a tensioned wire/cable wrapped around a portion of it is causing physical stress.
PLUS, all critical parts are supposed to have a "safety factor" of 3 (three). So, 516/3 is 172F. That part should never reach or exceed 172F.
Also, while cleaning, I found a pair of 20 year old Bauer "Turbo" (all plastic bodied) hockey skates. They used to easily support every bit of torque my 225 lbs could put into them. But, when I picked one up, the nearly 1/4" thick plastic ankle area broke apart into pieces. It had dried out and become brittle. And they have been in the basement for years at a stable temperature, not inside a vehicle's engine bay.
That is the MELTING point. I bet warping (due to softening of the nylon) occurs at a much lower temperature, especially with a tensioned wire/cable wrapped around a portion of it is causing physical stress.
PLUS, all critical parts are supposed to have a "safety factor" of 3 (three). So, 516/3 is 172F. That part should never reach or exceed 172F.
Also, while cleaning, I found a pair of 20 year old Bauer "Turbo" (all plastic bodied) hockey skates. They used to easily support every bit of torque my 225 lbs could put into them. But, when I picked one up, the nearly 1/4" thick plastic ankle area broke apart into pieces. It had dried out and become brittle. And they have been in the basement for years at a stable temperature, not inside a vehicle's engine bay.
JUST MY OPINION....AT THE MOMENT!
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