Manufacturing defect + Koua Fong Lee's account + similar accounts of runaway '96 Camrys = 100% Toyota's fault

It doesn't make sense to hold Koua Fong Lee 40% accountable for the tragic accident that claimed the lives of three people. You can't have it both ways. Either the vehicle had a manufacturing defect in the accelerator assembly or it didn't. The jury ruled that it did, giving credence to testimony given by Lee as well as other drivers who said they had unintended acceleration problems with '96 Camrys. So how on earth did the jury jump from agreeing with the crux of Koua's case to concluding that he was 40% at fault for the accident? It's anybody's guess as to how such a thing happened, and I certainly hope the miscarriage of justice is remedied on appeal.

The entire matter boils down to corroborating evidence of Lee's account of what happened. Fact is, such evidence has been there by the boatload ever since the accident occurred. The penniless immigrant was railroaded from the get go, and the disgraceful spectacle continued throughout his effort to sue Toyota - an admitted crook that deserves to be known as the Coverup King of the automotive industry - for a manufacturing defect.

Koua's lawsuit was stymied at the outset by a ridiculous legal shenanigan which took away his right to claim punitive damages. If anyone ever deserved punitive damages from an automaker, it's Koua Fong Lee, who spent a whopping two and a half years in prison as a consequence of Toyota's now-established manufacturing defect. And don't hand me any nonsense about shifting the blame for Lee's incarceration to Minnesota's sorry excuse for a justice system, then cleverly passing false imprisonment costs along to the taxpaying public. It's time automakers - especially admitted crooks like Toyota - are held accountable to the Nth degree for the consequences - both direct and indirect - resulting from manufacturing defects. Lee was further hamstrung by not being allowed to claim Toyota was guilty of a cover-up. Never mind complaints lodged with NHTSA about unintended acceleration in '96 Camrys. And don't dare to breath a word about the Coverup King - er I mean Toyota - pleading guilty to that federal fraud charge for misleading safety investigators about defective products.

Of course, "Judge Ann" quickly instructed the jury that it couldn't consider Lee's time in prison, nor the automaker's headline-grabbing parade of recalls, some of which resulted in record-setting fines for delays in reporting safety defects. Rounding out the picture, Lee's attorney's plans to present at additional witnesses were also quashed by the ever vigilant "Judge Ann," who kept a watchful eye lest a filthy rich corporate crook - at last count harboring $60 billion just in cash - be treated unfairly. If only folks had the same degree of concern for penniless immigrants and taxpaying citizens...

At one point, the kindly judge even assisted Toyota's attorney during a cross-examination of the hapless immigrant whose "peers" on the jury, I hasten to add, did not include anyone of Hmong descent. But perhaps "Judge Ann's" most notable "assistance" was allowing Toyota to present sworn depositions regarding that crux-of-the-case manufacturing defect. I'm sure the good judge wasn't aware of the fact that it's kinda difficult to conduct a cross-examination of a deposition. No wonder an Associated Press investigation concluded that Toyota uses evasion as a legal tactic.  Moreover, according to Lee's lawyer, Toyota spent "tens of millions" of dollars in an effort to "frame" his client.   

Don't get me wrong. Given the lopsided advantages granted to Toyota, it's a miracle the jury established that a manufacturing defect did exist, found Toyota 60% responsible for the accident, and awarded $11.4 million to the plaintiffs, $2.2 million of which will go to Lee. For all that, I'm exceedingly grateful. Unfortunately, the fact remains that many lives have been lost and shattered, the tragic nature of which was addressed quite admirably by a downcast and sorrowful Koua Fong Lee immediately after the verdict. 

Toyota, there are some things money just can't buy.

Admitted-crook Toyota granted unfair advantage in Koua Fong Lee's lawsuit

Please spread the word: There may be hope yet for folks who were victimized by Toyota regarding the "pre-cat" manufacturing defect in MR2 Spyders.
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tt was a hoot watchin' Amerika's so-called justice system exposed for the sham it is when unjustly imprisoned Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee appealed for a re-trial. The public unveiling of how Lee's case was handled confirmed the railroading of a penniless immigrant who found himself at the mercy - or lack thereof - of a pervasively corrupt system ramrodded by the incompetent, the uncaring, the politically motivated, and those hapless souls infected with this country's heritage of racism, which got underway with the American Indian. Evidence abounds - including some of the comments on news articles - that folks of Hmong descent best watch their step 'round the "Twin Cities" of Minnesota.

Once the sham of Lee's "conviction" was exposed - amidst picketing outside the courtroom, and a Facebook page committed to seeing Lee released from prison - there was little the good judge could do except free a guy who had beaten the odds when it comes to reversing injustice. And of course, with Lee winning his bid for a re-trial, his politically astute persecutor - er I mean prosecutor - suddenly saw the light and dropped all charges. She knew better than risk another trial, and that's well and good. But how many other "Koua Fong Lees" are rotting away in Amerika's corporate, run-for-profit prisons? How many other unjustly-imprisoned folks are lucky enough to have a conscientious newspaper reporter intervene, round up high-priced attorneys willing to work pro-bono and stick with the case through thick and thin?

So now we come to the Grand Opening of Lee's well-founded-if-ever-there-was lawsuit, not against Toyota, but against admitted crook Toyota. An automaker unparalleled in the annals of automotive history when it comes to lawsuits galore, congressional inquiries, record-setting fines, retaliation against whistleblowers, dirty deals with auto-industry-stooge NHTSA, and the foul-smelling list goes on ad nauseum, topped off by Toyota's guilty plea to a federal fraud charge, accompanied by $1.2 billion worth of payola forked over to a crooked government in exchange for an end to a federal investigation that threatened to blow the lid regarding evidence of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control.

Whew. Quite a record the ol' Coverup King has established. But not to worry...

Judge Ann gonna make sure corporate-citizen Toyota - at last count sporting a $60 billion pile of cash - isn't treated unfairly by some upstart immigrant who had the audacity to file suit against the Coverup King. First off, that pesky issue of punitive damages - a consideration that's put Toyota in "settlement mode" ever since the Bookout case (see video at bottom) in Oklahoma - had to be dealt with. No problem. Simply rule that Lee isn't entitled to claim such damages. That oughta teach him to confront the likes of Toyota. No tellin' what a jury might do with a case involving a young plaintiff unjustly imprisoned for many years.

And then there's all this fuss about what the jury might be allowed to consider. Ahem. Yes, let's make sure the jury doesn't start thinking about Toyota's never-ending parade of recalls, the congressional inquiry, the fines for delays in reporting safety defects, and for double-dog certain let's not even mention the part about Toyota being an admitted crook. All the jury needs to know for sure, according to Judge Ann, is the fact that Camrys like the one Lee was driving were never part of any of the Coverup King's - er I mean Toyota's - recalls. And that fact provides the absolute perfect opportunity to rule that this pesky immigrant can't argue that Toyota covered anything up. After all, how could any informed person in their right mind entertain the notion that corporate-citizen Toyota might be somewhat less than forthright about acknowledging safety defects? And never mind that a whole slew of people have already testified that they too had been terrorized when their Camrys - just like the one Lee was driving - suddenly sped out of control. Shame on them for having the unmitigated gall to say so under oath, and it must be bothersome indeed that two of Toyota's "Lee-type Camry" victims will testify as part of Lee's lawsuit.

For icing on the cake, let's put some hefty limits on what the jury can hear regarding the horrors Lee experienced during years of unjust imprisonment. Package things up neatly, and blabber that as far as prison time goes, Lee should be compensated not by Toyota, but by taxpayers.

Right, Judge Ann. Let's bend over backwards to make sure this immigrant's lawsuit is conducted fairly for all concerned, especially a taxpaying public that continues to be put at risk by the shenanigans of a crook like Toyota, propped up by the automaker's good friends in Washington - Repukes n Demagogues alike - who deceitfully pose as representatives of the people.

In his courageous efforts to make truth prevail, Koua Fong Lee still needs all the luck he can get.