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Wild Ride Lawsuit for Lohan?

Fri., Jul. 27, 2007 7:39 PM PDT by Joal Ryan

There's been a civil turn in the wild Lindsay Lohan case.

A lawyer for the three men who say they were unwitting passengers to Lohan's latest alleged DUI misadventure outlined a possible civil lawsuit against the actress at a Friday press conference.

Speaking by phone later in the afternoon, attorney Randall Billington said, "Without any question these three men have claims that could be made."

In an interview with TMZ, Dante Nigro, Jakon Sutter and Ronnie Blake talked of running into the actress at a late-night Malibu party, where a "raging" Lohan would commandeer Nigro's GMC Yukon Denali, and speed off in pursuit of her former assistant, and later her former assistant's mother. Blake said he jumped out of the SUV as Lohan hit the gas; the other two said they saw everything—the chases, the arrest, the speedometer hitting 100 mph.

Lohan was arrested early Tuesday in Santa Monica and booked on suspicion of DUI, driving with a suspended license and possession of cocaine, a small amount of which police say was found in the 21-year-old Freaky Friday star's pocket.

A civil action against Lohan by Nigro, Sutter and Blake could allege unlawful use of Nigro's SUV, infliction of emotional distress, even false imprisonment, Billington said. But the attorney described a lawsuit as a last resort.

"I stated very, very clearly I intended to present to Ms. Lohan and her reps the concerns of my clients, and give her an opportunity privately to address those without addressing a media circus," Billington said.

But wasn't holding a press conference outside Nigro's Marina Del Rey, California, home adding a ring to the very media circus the attorney said he wanted to avoid?

"I suppose you could say that. It wasn't my goal," Billington said. "I agreed to come up there after I found out there was a crowd there."

The attorney said he got a call at 5:45 a.m. Friday that the press was camped outside Nigro's house. According to Billington, the news conference did the trick, thinning the media ranks.

Nigro, Sutter and Blake attended the press op, but did not speak.

A message left with Blair Berk, a Lohan attorney, was not returned late Friday. Billington said he'd been told by Berk's office that she was only working with Lohan on criminal, not civil, matters.

Could the allegations of Nigro, Sutter and Blake result in criminal charges?

"It's certainly possible as they investigate this story," Billington said, adding that he had no knowledge of where the law-enforcement case was heading.

Lieutenant P.J. Guido of the Santa Monica Police Department described the Lohan investigation as ongoing, but added he was unaware of any additional charges being sought.

Lohan, who declared herself "innocent" of the booking charges in an email to Access Hollywood, is said to be in a "safe place," per her handlers, but there's no official word on whether she's seeking rehab treatment for the third time this year. Tuesday's arrest came 11 days after she completed a stay at Malibu's famed Promises clinic, a stay that was prompted by a DUI arrest in May. Lohan is scheduled to be arraigned on both cases on Aug. 24.

"Addiction is a terrible and vicious disease," Berk said Tuesday, adding that she'd learned too late on Monday that "Lindsay had relapsed."

According to Billington, Nigro, Sutter and Blake, none of whom are friends of Lohan, "want to see a good outcome for her."

"My clients happened to be the present on that occasion [of Lohan's relapse]," Billington said, referencing the Berk quote, "and had the chance to see firsthand what that statement means."