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Three Strikes and You're Out!
Well you've got to give them credit. The Chrysler
Group is suing three Texas lawyers, accusing them of filing a bogus $2
billion product liability lawsuit against the automaker and then tampering
with evidence.
"We're fighting back against lawsuit abuse," said a Chrysler attorney
at a news conference held on July 9, 2003 in Austin, Texas. Chrysler has
taken similar action against lawyers in Philadelphia and St. Louis.
The Texas lawsuit, filed in state district court in San Antonio, seeks
unspecified monetary damages from Robert Kugle, Robert "Trey" Wilson III
and Andrew Toscano.
Chrysler lawyers contend that the three lawyers waged a "strike-it-rich
scheme" by pursuing a fraudulent $2 billion lawsuit against the company
and seeking a settlement in a 1996 fatal crash of a Dodge Neon in Mexico.
The widow of the car's driver sued the Chrysler Corp. in mid-1998,
claiming the crash was caused in part by a defective steering wheel part.
Chrysler Corp., which merged with Daimler-Benz AG later that year,
contended that the woman told authorities her husband fell asleep at the
wheel before the crash occurred but that the lawyers tried to get her to
change her testimony.
The company also contend that the three lawyers tampered with evidence,
including actually breaking the steering wheel part that was shown intact
in photos.
In 2000, a state district judge fined the lawyers $920,489 for tampering
with evidence and attempting to bribe witnesses.
The judge also dismissed the $2 billion lawsuit, a decision the lawyers
unsuccessfully appealed
Sources: FindLaw.com, AP, "Chrysler Sues 3 Lawyers for Bogus Suit," July
10, 2003.
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