Convicted drunk driver Marco Muzzo and his family’s drywall business are being sued by the relatives of the three children and grandfather he killed in a September 2015 car crash.

Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5 and Milly Neville-Lake, 2, along with their 65-year-old grandfather, Gary Neville, died when an impaired Muzzo, then 29, drove through a stop sign in Vaughan and struck the family’s minivan.

Also injured in the crash were the children’s grandmother, Neriza Neville, and great-grandmother, Josefina Frias.

The case attracted national attention because of the number of victims in the same family and the Muzzo family’s wealth, estimated to be $1.8 billion by Canadian Business magazine.

Muzzo pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of impaired driving causing death and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm, and was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison — considered one of the harshest sentences handed down in Canadian history for those crimes.

He had been returning home after landing in a private jet from his bachelor party in Miami, court heard after he pleaded guilty. A toxicologist found that Muzzo would have had between 190 and 245 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood at the time of the collision, nearly three times the legal limit.

The $22.5 million-dollar lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in April, is being brought by Neriza Neville, as well as the children’s parents, Edward Lake and Jennifer Neville-Lake, their uncle Jonathan Neville and aunt Josephine Neville.

“The plaintiffs state that the defendant, Marco Muzzo, has behaved with high-handedness and with disdain for the rights of the plaintiffs,” says the statement of claim.

“The plaintiffs further state that the defendant, Marco Muzzo, was conscious of the probable consequences of his carelessness and was indifferent or worse, to the danger of injury or death to the occupants of the Neville-Lake vehicle.”

None of the statement of claim’s allegations has been proven in court.

The family says their “lives have been, remains and will be significantly impaired” and that the loss of their family members has affected their ability to earn a livelihood and means they will continue to require treatment, according to the statement of claim.

Steven Stieber, lawyer for Muzzo and the family business Marel Contractors, told the Star that a statement of defence will be filed soon “accepting responsibility and not casting blame or fault on anyone else.” He said the defendants hope to resolve the matter of compensation in the near future.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Richard Shekter, declined to comment.

The family is also suing Marel as they allege the company owned the car Muzzo was driving, and that the company failed to ensure it was mechanically sound.

They allege that Marel allowed its vehicle “to be operated by a driver who lacked reasonable care, skill, ability and training and who ought not to have been operating the said motor vehicle in question.”

They go on to allege that Marel failed to properly maintain the car, including failure to ensure the brakes were in working order. (After Muzzo pleaded guilty, court heard that he applied the brakes 3.7 seconds before the crash, but was still going 85 km/h when he collided with the minivan.)

Edward and Jennifer attended nearly every court appearance for Muzzo at the Newmarket courthouse and always spoke to the media afterward about their loss. In her victim impact statement, which she read herself at Muzzo’s sentencing hearing in February, Jennifer Neville-Lake addressed Muzzo directly.

“I don’t have anyone left to call me mom. Not one left. You killed all my babies,” she said.

“The roaring silence that has been left behind as a result of your actions is so deafening, and is so incredibly, painfully discordant to listen to. Shame on you for taking my loves from me.”

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When it came time for Muzzo himself to address the court, Edward and Jennifer quietly exited the courtroom.

“I wish that I could be able to give back to your family for all I have taken,” he said. “I will spend the rest of my life attempting to atone for my conduct — by devoting myself to educating the public of the disastrous consequences of drinking and driving.”

In handing down her sentence, Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst said the message about the dangers of drinking and driving had escaped Muzzo.

“It is important that it does not escape others,” she said. “The high degree of Mr. Muzzo’s moral blameworthiness, combined with the enormous and far-reaching consequences of his offences, sets this case apart from others.”

Muzzo, who was also banned from driving for 12 years, is eligible to apply for full parole after having served one-third of his sentence — in about three years.

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