The lawyers of convicted killer Marco Muzzo are arguing that the Neville-Lake family should not receive more than a third of the damages they are seeking in a $25-million lawsuit.
Muzzo and his family’s drywall business Ayrfield Holdings Ltd. are named in the Statement of Claim filed by the Neville-Lake family.
In the Statement of Defence, Muzzo admits responsibility for the drunk driving crash that killed three children and their grandfather but his lawyers are requesting a trial to reevaluate the damages as they argue the York Region man has already been punished by imprisonment.
“The plaintiffs’ damages, if any, should be reduced by the amount of any collateral benefits they received or are entitled to,” the Statement of Defence says. “The plaintiffs’ are not entitled at law to recover punitive or exemplary damages in view of Muzzo’s criminal conviction and lengthy incarceration in a penitentiary arising from his conduct leading to the subject accident.”
Lawyers are asking for damages to be about $10 million less than the $25 million that has been requested.
Muzzo was behind the wheel of his Jeep Cherokee on Sept. 27, 2015 when he sped through a stop sign killing the Neville-Lake children -- Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5, and Milagros, 2, -- and their 65-year-old grandfather Gary Neville. The crash happened in Vaughan after Muzzo smashed into the family’s mini-van. The children’s grandmother, Neriza Neville, was also in the vehicle and suffered serious injuries.
Court heard that Muzzo landed in Toronto on his private jet earlier that day from Miami where he and his friends celebrated his bachelor party.
According to Canadian Business magazine, Muzzo’s family’s worth is close to $1.8 billion. The family’s company is also being sued as the plaintiffs allege the company owned the vehicle Muzzo was driving at the time of the crash and the brakes were not working properly. The defendants denied these allegations in their statement of defence.
At the time of the collision, a toxicologist discovered that Muzzo would have had between 190 and 245 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitires of blood, which is about three times the legal limit.
Muzzo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for impaired driving causing death and bodily harm.
The statement of defence was sent to CTV News Toronto by the Neville-Lake family’s new lawyer Wendy Sokoloff, who declined to comment. Sokoloff is now representing the childrens’ parents Edward and Jennifer and their aunt Josephine Neville. Richard Shekter continues to represent their grandmother Neriza.
Sokoloff refused to comment on the Statement of Defence. Her office sent an email to CTV News Toronto that said “We are not in a position at this time to discuss the claim without consulting with our clients, as this is a very emotional topic for them to discuss or read about.”
