DaimlerChrysler Corporation Is Taking the Offensive Against Corruption in America's Legal System

Seeks Disbarment of Texas Lawyer Who Committed Fraud in a Bogus $2 Billion Product Liability Suit

• Attorney's misconduct included evidence tampering in a product liability case
• Behavior represented "one of the most outrageous examples of lawyer misconduct in Texas history"
• Attorney should not be allowed "to practice law like any upstanding member of the Texas Bar”

In 1998, San Antonio attorneys Andrew Toscano, Robert Kugle and Robert "Trey" Wilson III, of The Kugle Law Firm, prosecuted a product liability lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler and others seeking $2 billion in damages. The case involved a Dodge Neon that was involved in a rollover accident after the driver fell asleep behind the wheel. Four of his passengers died in the accident. Shortly before trial in 2000, DaimlerChrysler's attorneys learned that:

• Toscano or someone acting with his approval had tampered with the steering system in the Dodge Neon to produce the false appearance that it was defective
• Toscano and his colleagues repeatedly refused to abide by court orders to turn over photographs of the vehicle's steering system taken before it had been intentionally damaged — photographs that they knew would expose the case as a fraud
• An investigator working for The Kugle Law Firm attempted to bribe and intimidate witnesses into "forgetting" that the driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel and caused the accident.

When the fraud was revealed, Judge David Peeples dismissed the case and sanctioned Toscano, Kugle and Wilson for nearly $1 million. The sanction remains unpaid, although Toscano and Wilson continue to practice law.

After Judge Peeples referred the lawyers to the State Bar, Kugle fled the country and is believed to be at large in Mexico; he was later disbarred. Incredibly, the State Bar's Commission for Lawyer Discipline agreed to a discipline for Wilson that fails to require that he lose even a day of law practice. Toscano thus far has refused to accept any discipline, and his case is scheduled to proceed to trial. Mr. Gluckman has asked to intervene in this case so that he can present to the judge a full record of Toscano's misconduct.

"Unless DaimlerChrysler is permitted its day in court, there is a danger that abusive, egregious, outrageous lawyer misconduct could go unpunished," said Hantler.  "If that happens, it would send a signal to other unscrupulous lawyers that, at least in Texas, they can file fraudulent cases, tamper with evidence, attempt to bribe and intimidate witnesses and get caught — but still practice law like any upstanding member of the Texas Bar."

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