Lindsay to Have Her Day in Court

Tue., Sep. 11, 2007 4:00 PM PDT by Sarah Hall

Lindsay Lohan continues to be haunted by the driving offenses of her past.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied a request from the rehabbing starlet to dismiss portions of a lawsuit stemming from an October 2005 car crash.

Raymundo Ortega, the other driver involved in the crash, has sued Lohan for at least $200,000, alleging that she was tipsy at the time she slammed her black Mercedes convertible into his van.

Citing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's report on the incident, which found that Ortega, not Lohan, was at fault in the crash, the actress' legal team filed a brief earlier this month declaring Ortega's claims to be "nothing but inflammatory statements" and seeking to dismiss portions of, if not his entire complaint.

"The mere presence of this type of allegation in the complaint is an attempt to embarrass [Lohan] with false allegations in order to use it as a battering ram to force a settlement," Lohan attorney Alfred Gerisch wrote in the brief.

Another Lohan attorney, David J. Ozeran, reiterated Tuesday that there was no evidence Lohan had been drinking on the day of the crash and said he believed there to be "no question in this case that she wasn't intoxicated.''

Countering that argument, Ortega's lawyer, Robert G. Klein claims he has witnesses who will testify that Lohan was speeding at the time of the crash and that she had been served alcohol over lunch.

He claims Lohan was trying to flee the paparazzi at the time she rammed into Ortega, as he made an illegal U-turn in order to squeeze his van into a parking space on the far side of the street.

Klein also wants the judge to take into account the fact that Lohan has been admitted to rehab multiple times within the last year.

"The fact that Ms. Lohan was admitted to rehab for alcohol abuse shortly after this accident raised a presumption that at the time of his accident she was under the influence," Klein stated in his filing.

Klein also questioned Lohan's decision to dash into a nearby boutique to wait for police to arrive, rather than checking to see if his client was in need of medical care. He claims Ortega was knocked unconscious by the impact.

"This case is about responsibility, and she's not taking responsibility," Klein said outside court Tuesday.

Judge Michael L. Stern set an Apr. 7 trial date in the case, estimating that the matter would take four days to resolve.

He also gave Klein until Sept. 21 to amend the lawsuit to reflect that Lohan's car was owned by her corporation, Crossheart Productions Inc.

Lohan is currently in rehab at Utah's Cirque Lodge, where she is making a renewed effort to kick her admitted addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Last week, she was reunited with her father, Michael Lohan, after a three-year period of estrangement, for a visit the elder Lohan described as "amazing."