That's When the Penny Dropped—'Koua Fong Lee's Lawyer Says Toyota Liable'

Eagan, MNAfter spending three years in prison, Kuoa Fong Lee is now trying to reacquaint himself with his family and pull his life back together, says Brent Schafer, the attorney who realized last January that Lee was likely the victim of a wrongful conviction for vehicular homicide. "He can't forget about what happened to him," says Schafer, "every night when he goes to bed, he can't believe he is actually free."

Schafer first met the 32-year-old Thai immigrant when he was called upon to represent Lee at his sentencing hearing for vehicular homicide in St. Paul. Schafer argued for a one-year term for Lee, but the judge decided seven was appropriate. In 2006, while driving his family home from church, Lee's 1996 Toyota Camry charged into another vehicle at 70 to 90 miles an hour, killing three people. Lee insisted his foot was on the brake, not the accelerator, but the jury found his story unbelievable.

"When the big Toyota recall for sudden unintended acceleration started last January, I contacted Lee and his family," says Schafer. "I thought this might explain what happened."

"I started getting calls from all over the country telling me they had the same experience driving a 1996 Toyota Camry" says Schafer. "They described how they lost control of their car. They were all very confident that they were not pressing on the accelerator and these were all very credible people."

"That's when the penny dropped," says Schafer. "I thought now we really have something here. This has got legs. This explains what could never be explained."

Schafer set a course. On August 15th, Lee was released from prison, a free man. Now it's his turn to seek justice.

In order to expedite the process, Schafer has filed a motion to include Lee in a lawsuit filed against Toyota by the family of the people who died in the 2006 crash. In other words, Lee will file a claim for damages against Toyota along side the family that once blamed him for the accident.

Schafer will argue that Toyota was aware of the sudden unintended acceleration problems at the time Lee was being tried for vehicular homicide. "We will argue that through their local dealers here, Toyota was aware of Lee's criminal trial and well aware that he went to prison because of the mistaken belief he hit the accelerator," says Schafer who does both criminal and personal injury law. "And if that can be established in court then we believe Toyota should pay damages to our client."

The damages could be significant. "One of his children was born while he was in prison and the other was about a year old," says Schafer. "Right now he is spending time with his family, and trying to get back some lost time and be a father again. He's got a lot of issues," says Schafer. "He is getting therapy and trying to put all the pieces back together again."

What happened to Kuoa Fong Lee, Schafer says, is "a story book case. It is just incredible. When other people began telling me about accelerator problems with their 1996 Toyota Camry's, I knew if they had been able to testify at his trial, he never would have been convicted. "

Brent Schafer is a graduate of the Hamline School of Law. A former prosecutor, Schafer went into private practice in 1997. His firm, Brent Schafer Law, handles both personal injury and criminal law. He is the recipient of the 2010 "Never Forgotten Award" by Minnesota Innocence Project