IkeaBoy
09-05-2001, 01:42 PM
By DAREH GREGORIAN and DAN MANGAN
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September 5, 2001 -- Lizzie Grubman's dad is using a "blame the victim" defense - saying one of the people run over by his daughter was responsible for his own injuries.
Allen Grubman - a lawyer and the leasee of the Mercedes SUV that the publicity princess backed into 16 people - charges in court papers that victim Adam Wacht's injuries "were caused in whole or in part by" Wacht's negligence or "culpable conduct."
The papers also claim that by being at the Conscience Point Inn in Southampton on July 7, Wacht knowingly assumed the risk of being hurt.
The papers do not spell out how Wacht, an entertainment promoter whose leg was shattered, was negligent or culpable.
The papers were filed as a response to Wacht's $30 million civil suit against Lizzie and her dad - and were made public as a sixth victim filed suit in the case.
Wacht's lawyers were furious about Allen Grubman's charge.
"That's pouring salt on open wounds," fumed one, Howard Hershenhorn. "It's absolute nonsense. Any logical person knows that there was nothing any of these victims could have done to avoid this accident."
Allen Grubman's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
But Lizzie's criminal lawyer, Stephen Scaring, told The Post, "I think you're making more of it [her father's papers] than it deserves."
Scaring said the language blaming Wacht "is boilerplate and routinely inserted into answers" to lawsuits.
That "boilerplate" explanation didn't wash with another of Wacht's lawyers, Anthony Gair.
"Given the egregious nature of this accident, it's totally uncalled for, because there's absolutely no basis of fact to assert that" Wacht was to blame, he said.
Lizzie, 30, claims the crash was an accident, but police who arrested her on felony assault charges said she intentionally ran down the victims and fled the crash scene.
She is scheduled to appear in Southampton court today for a hearing. But the case is expected to be continued because a grand jury is still considering whether to indict her.
Meanwhile, crash victim Robyn Rosenblum filed a $25 million suit against both Grubmans, Lizzie's p.r. firm and the Conscience Point Inn.
The club, she claims, is partly to blame for the crash and the "painful and permanent injuries" that she suffered from Grubman's "outrageous, deliberate and malicious conduct."
Conscience Point Inn's negligence and "careless, reckless operation" caused Lizzie Grubman "to be enraged and angry" and to drive in a reckless way and to cause injuries to others, the suit claims.
Police have said Lizzie backed into a bouncer and the other victims after arguing with the bouncer about her car being parked in a fire lane.
Rosenblum's suit says club employees should not have let Lizzie leave her car in a no-parking area in the first place, and also should have given her "appropriate direction and guidance so she may exit said area without causing injuries to others."
Conscience Point Inn's owners did not return calls seeking comment about the suit, which is the first to name the club and Lizzie's firm.
Lizzie Grubman Associates is liable for Lizzie's actions, the suit claims, because she went to the club the night of the crash as part of her job to promote it.
The suit also accuses Lizzie of driving "while intoxicated and/or impaired by alcohol and/or drugs" - a claim she has vehemently denied.
"Nothing can kill The Grimace"
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September 5, 2001 -- Lizzie Grubman's dad is using a "blame the victim" defense - saying one of the people run over by his daughter was responsible for his own injuries.
Allen Grubman - a lawyer and the leasee of the Mercedes SUV that the publicity princess backed into 16 people - charges in court papers that victim Adam Wacht's injuries "were caused in whole or in part by" Wacht's negligence or "culpable conduct."
The papers also claim that by being at the Conscience Point Inn in Southampton on July 7, Wacht knowingly assumed the risk of being hurt.
The papers do not spell out how Wacht, an entertainment promoter whose leg was shattered, was negligent or culpable.
The papers were filed as a response to Wacht's $30 million civil suit against Lizzie and her dad - and were made public as a sixth victim filed suit in the case.
Wacht's lawyers were furious about Allen Grubman's charge.
"That's pouring salt on open wounds," fumed one, Howard Hershenhorn. "It's absolute nonsense. Any logical person knows that there was nothing any of these victims could have done to avoid this accident."
Allen Grubman's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
But Lizzie's criminal lawyer, Stephen Scaring, told The Post, "I think you're making more of it [her father's papers] than it deserves."
Scaring said the language blaming Wacht "is boilerplate and routinely inserted into answers" to lawsuits.
That "boilerplate" explanation didn't wash with another of Wacht's lawyers, Anthony Gair.
"Given the egregious nature of this accident, it's totally uncalled for, because there's absolutely no basis of fact to assert that" Wacht was to blame, he said.
Lizzie, 30, claims the crash was an accident, but police who arrested her on felony assault charges said she intentionally ran down the victims and fled the crash scene.
She is scheduled to appear in Southampton court today for a hearing. But the case is expected to be continued because a grand jury is still considering whether to indict her.
Meanwhile, crash victim Robyn Rosenblum filed a $25 million suit against both Grubmans, Lizzie's p.r. firm and the Conscience Point Inn.
The club, she claims, is partly to blame for the crash and the "painful and permanent injuries" that she suffered from Grubman's "outrageous, deliberate and malicious conduct."
Conscience Point Inn's negligence and "careless, reckless operation" caused Lizzie Grubman "to be enraged and angry" and to drive in a reckless way and to cause injuries to others, the suit claims.
Police have said Lizzie backed into a bouncer and the other victims after arguing with the bouncer about her car being parked in a fire lane.
Rosenblum's suit says club employees should not have let Lizzie leave her car in a no-parking area in the first place, and also should have given her "appropriate direction and guidance so she may exit said area without causing injuries to others."
Conscience Point Inn's owners did not return calls seeking comment about the suit, which is the first to name the club and Lizzie's firm.
Lizzie Grubman Associates is liable for Lizzie's actions, the suit claims, because she went to the club the night of the crash as part of her job to promote it.
The suit also accuses Lizzie of driving "while intoxicated and/or impaired by alcohol and/or drugs" - a claim she has vehemently denied.
"Nothing can kill The Grimace"