Tommy Takes the Stand

It wasn't your typical Tommy Lee show.

The ex-Mötley Crüe drummer was the main attraction at the Santa Monica Courthouse Tuesday, as the wrongful-death trial against him officially kicked off.

Lee is being sued by television producer James Veres and German TV actress Ursula Karven, whose four-year-old son, Daniel, drowned during a party for the rocker's son Brandon in June 2001. Lee was a negligent host, they say, and his inattention cost their boy his life.

The Los Angeles County coroner ultimately determined Daniel died of an accidental drowning, and no criminal charges were filed against the musician.

Lee, taking the stand to defend himself, calmly recounted the day, telling jurors he was stationed poolside chatting up his "life coach" when Daniel's body was found in the water.

"I was about 10 feet to 12 feet away, sitting by a table right by the shallow end. I heard [a guest] scream. I saw her pulling Daniel out of the water. I panicked and proceded to call 911."

Daniel's body was found after a female guest literally tripped over the boy as she made her way across the pool.

Lee said the accident was "unfortunate" but it wasn't his fault--he said he wasn't responsible for keeping track of all the kids at the party. "If they were alone it would be my problem. They weren't."

Karven, who appeared on the stand late in the day, said she didn't realize Daniel was going to a pool party. He couldn't swim, she said, and didn't take his waterwings with him. Karven's testimony was punctuated with weeping as she struggled to talk about her late son.

Tuesday's action began with opening arguments alternately portraying the 40-year-old Lee as a careless wild-man and a loving daddy.

Attorney Tom Girardi, representing the Veres family, laid out the case against the Methods of Mayhem frontman, saying Lee hastily decided to throw the party marking Brandon's fifth birthday, only choosing to hold the gathering at the last minute to "offset" one hosted a week earlier with Brandon's mom and Lee's then estranged wife, Pamela Anderson.

"This is totally reckless disregard, an absolutely stupid way these little children came over to this house," Girardi told the jury, which was seated Monday. Lee opened up the party to his "tattooed, hard-drinking buddies," the lawyer contended, a no-no for a party for preschoolers.

Lee was too busy talking to his therapist to pay attention as young Daniel floundered in the pool just feet away, Girardi alleged. Daniel might have even survived, Girardi said, had Lee hired a real lifeguard who knew CPR.

Lee's legal rep, Jim Barratta, countered by saying, "This was not some sort of crazy Hollywood party where everyone was drinking." Sure, Lee invited former Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons and a couple of other pals, but most of the adult partygoers were parents and nannies accompanying their kids, who spent the day playing with a guy dressed in a Buzz Lightyear get-up, watching a magician and visiting a petting zoo.

There was just one six-pack of beer and no hard liquor, Barratta claimed, with the beverages of choice being soda and fruit drinks. Barratta said he'd be calling police to the stand to testify that Lee--or any other adult, tattooed or otherwise--showed no signs of being intoxicated.

Barratta also noted that the Vereses didn't even attend the party. Instead, they sent Daniel with his caretaker, a German exchange student named Christian Weihs, who left the party early to go to a concert. A second nanny, Judith Zeihm, then agreed to watch the boy. Barratta said he had witnesses who will testify that, upon finding the boy floating in the pool, Zeihm said, "Oh my god! I'm in so much trouble." (In January, a judge rejected Lee's motion to have Zeihm added to the suit as a codefendant, due to lack of evidence; Weihs has disappeared and will not appear at the trial.)

Lee, meanwhile, kept his tattoos in check, opting instead for a conservative gray suit, black shirt and tie.

There's one potential wild-card in the case: Anderson. The Veres camp says it might call Lee's ex to counter his testimony. The couple, which now shares custody of their two sons, engaged in a bitter battle over the boys, with Anderson alleging Lee was not a sound father.

Lee, who has put the Malibu home up for sale for $3 million, had reportedly hoped to reach a settlement with the boy's parents but was thwarted by his insurance company, which would rather see the matter play out in court than pay the more than $1 million in damages Veres and Karven are believed to be seeking to cover funeral costs and emotional distress. The New York Daily News has reported the couple will demand more than $160 million during the trial.

The trial resumes Wednesday morning with Karven back on the stand.