Relatives of family killed in SF West Portal crash file lawsuit against driver for moving assets
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A new lawsuit was filed against the driver who crashed into and killed a young San Francisco family who was waiting for a bus last year in the West Portal neighborhood.
The lawsuit claims the 80-year-old driver, Mary Fong Lau secretly transferred assets to protect them from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victims' extended family. It claims Lau intentionally moved three properties out of her trust to avoid them being included in the wrongful death lawsuit.
"We decided it was necessary for us to file a lawsuit to undo those transfers, bring them back into her control, and also to ask the court to freeze any potential conduct in the future," said the victim's family attorney, Jim Quadra, Quadra & Coll, LLP.
In July of 2024, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins charged Lau with four counts of felony vehicular manslaughter.
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"She has, apparently, her only defense is that there was a mechanical failure with the vehicle. However, we know because the police and the DA investigated the case and ultimately charged it as a manslaughter, manslaughter, felony manslaughter, that the vehicle as far as that investigation shows, did not have a failure, and it's her responsibility," Quadra said.
The victims' families filed a wrongful death lawsuit in June 2024. That civil lawsuit is on hold until the criminal case finishes.
We asked UC Law professor David Levine if transferring assets during this process was legal.
"If what the family alleges is anywhere close to true, the answer is no, this is not legal," Levine said. "What she is afraid of is that there will be a judgment against her. The judgment will be so large that the insurance policy on the car she was driving will not be enough to pay the judgment, and then the family of the person who died will then take the judgment issued in the case and then attempt to collect against other assets."
Lau recently changed attorneys. The victims' attorneys view this as another move to delay.
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"Her lawyer, on her behalf, kept saying they needed more time, they needed more time. And they, even most recently, she changed lawyers, which effectively delayed the criminal case even further. So that campaign of delay added to the notion that she is not in any way, in our view, taking responsibility for the deaths of these people. It's a horrible tragedy that she is not in any way have taken responsibility for," said Quadra.
As to the transfers, Lau's new attorney Seth Morris confirmed the transfers did happen and said in part:
"While Ms. Lau was advised to reorganize her property holdings in the months following the accident, none of these transfers were intended to evade potential damage arising from this heartbreaking event," Morris said.
Jenkins couldn't speak about the ongoing criminal case but explained in general why some cases may be delayed.
"This is not sadly uncommon, and we tend to see it in more serious cases that we handle like homicide and very serious sexual assaults, often when our evidence is very strong. It's a defense tactic to have witnesses become uncooperative or for us to lose track of them in order to make the defense case stronger," Jenkins said.
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Full statement from Seth Morris Law:
"A new lawsuit has been filed by the plaintiffs in the tragic car accident that occurred at West Portal last spring, involving our client, Mary Lau. This new lawsuit alleges that Ms. Lau transferred properties into an LLC to avoid paying damages in a civil lawsuit related to the accident.
"We want to be clear that this is not the case. In the aftermath of the accident, Ms. Lau and her family sought professional help from legal, financial, medical, and mental health consultants. While Ms. Lau was advised to reorganize her property holdings in the months following the accident, none of these transfers were intended to evade potential damages arising from this heartbreaking event.
"From the moment this tragedy occurred, Ms. Lau has expressed her profound grief as she struggles to understand how the accident happened. As a mother and grandmother, she acknowledges the immense suffering of those who lost loved ones and understands their families deserve to be compensated for their very unfortunate loss.
"Ms. Lau now has a dedicated legal team in place to provide her with the best possible guidance and intends to cooperate fully in the criminal and civil cases that have been filed against her. She also grieves over the accident she was involved in and the losses suffered by all."
