The man Porsche must fear in aftermath of fatal Paul Walker crash

Raise your hand: Who thinks there won't be a lawsuit over the Porsche Carrera GT crash that killed “Fast and the Furious” actor Paul Walker, and his friend, business associate and driver Roger Rodas?

Nobody? Thought so.

The best bet for making legal-related headlines would be the San Diego-based McClellan Law Firm, headed by ex-Marine Capt. Craig McClellan, a former SCCA club racer who was the first lawyer to try a Ford Explorer rollover case, and was a pioneer in litigation involving three-wheeled ATVs. For years, McClellan has focused in part on Porsche.

Samples from his website:

-- Garrison v. Porsche arose out of the death of a husband and father who was a passenger in a Turbo 930 when the driver lost control on a city street and went into oncoming traffic. The jury awarded $2.5 million, which was upheld on appeal. The 1983 award tied the verdict for the death of Audie Murphy, a war hero and actor, for the largest wrongful-death verdict in California. Following the Garrison verdict, Porsche started offering driver's training to purchasers of its high-performance, turbocharged vehicles.

-- Trent v. Porsche arose out of the death of a husband and father when the Turbo 930 oversteered and collided with a telephone pole. The case settled for a confidential amount.

But the most relevant case began on June 5, 2005, when driver Ben Keaton and passenger Corey Rudl, at the time a top Internet marketing executive, were killed in a crash at Auto Club Speedway in California while lapping during a Ferrari Club track day. A Ferrari pulled onto the track, and Keaton made an evasive maneuver, ending up hitting a concrete barrier at about 100 mph.

There were multiple defendants -- the track, the club, the Ferrari driver, and even the estate of Keaton, because Keaton “failed to inform Rudl that he had been having handling problems with the Porsche, and that he had a recent incident where he lost control of the car.” Which, of course, happens at track days multiple times an hour, but apparently that was significant.

Porsche was, of course, named in the suit. Said a McClellan press release quoting the lawyer, “The expensive sports car was not equipped with Electronic Stability Control, a life-saving safety feature which would have prevented Mr. Rudl's death.”

McClellan got a $4.5 million settlement for the family of already-millionaire Rudl two years after the crash, but Porsche was on the hook for only 8 percent of it -- $360,000, or $80,000 less than the Porsche Carrera GT cost new. Keaton's family (49 percent) and the track and organizers (41 percent) were responsible for most of the settlement. But the precedent is there, and established by McClellan, in the minds of many Californians.

Elements of a potential case are still developing. One possibility: CNN is reporting that the fire that engulfed the car did not begin until 60 seconds after the crash. Does the location of the fuel filler make the car more susceptible to a fire after a crash? And would it have mattered to Walker and Rodas? Was there a mechanical failure? Did a tire deflate? Did the steering fail?

Or was Rodas just driving a high-performance car at a speed beyond his ability? We still don't know. Despite a growing trend in the aftermath that seems determined to label the Carrera GT as the most undriveable, dangerous car ever unleashed on enthusiasts, that reputation is rapidly becoming overblown. And these guys were on the street, not on the limit constantly -- lap after lap -- around a racetrack, which is what pro drivers are talking about when they have commented about how tricky the Porsche is to drive. They aren't talking about driving it through a neighborhood.

Yet anybody who thinks a lawsuit will allege that Rodas just lost it in a 600-hp midengine car, and there was no fault on the part of Porsche, the tire company, the seat belt manufacturer, the guys who paved the road in the office park, the person who planted the tree the car hit -- raise your hand.

Nobody? Thought so.

By Stephen Cole Smith