Woman Sues Cafe After Being Hurt in Shooting : Owner Should Have Warned of Threats Made by Gangs for ‘Protection Money,’ Suit Claims

A lawsuit brought by a customer who was shot and injured during a gang-related extortion attack on a Santa Ana restaurant was scheduled to go to trail today in Orange County Superior Court.

The unusual lawsuit alleges that the owner, who had been subjected to repeated demands by gangs for “protection money,” should have warned a customer about the potential for danger.

The lawsuit was filed by Anh Phuc Lam, described by her lawyer as a professional singer with a substantial following who fled Vietnam 10 years ago. She was shot in the stomach, and was permanently disabled, as she stood in the doorway of the Cafe Lup at 414 N. Euclid St. on Sept. 29, 1984, according to her lawyer, Roger A. Kander of Long Beach.

The owner of the Vietnamese restaurant, Yen Lam, denied any liability in the case.

Because of the unusual claims, the trial was split into two segments. Beginning today, jurors will be picked to determine whether the owner had an obligation to warn Lam. If the answer is yes, jurors will hear more evidence on the extent of Lam’s injuries.

“The owner stated in a deposition she had been threatened by the gangs that if she didn’t pay extortion money, they were going to come in and wreck her place,” Kander said.

Lam was inside about 1 a.m., Kander said, when shots were fired into the restaurant.

“My client came out of restroom, she wasn’t aware of the shooting,” Kander said. “The owner tells her, ‘Quick, go close the door.’ She walks to the front door and gets shot in the stomach.”

Kander contends that because the owner knew of the threat, she had a duty “not to expose my client to the danger.”

The owner knew what was happening, Kander added.

“She was scared to death,” Kander said. “She ran into the kitchen when she heard the shots.”

No arrests were made in the attack, Kander said. The neighborhood was victimized by a “tremendous” amount of gang activity and extortion, and was well known by police, Kander said.

According to the filing, Lam “continues to experience stomach and abdominal pain, low back pain with legs tiring easily, headaches, dizziness, anxiety, weakness as well as exhaustion.”

Lam, who is self-employed, has been out of work since the shooting. According to court papers, she has lost monthly earnings averaging about $5,000, and is now dependent on welfare. She has claimed medical expenses of $25,000. Before the lawsuit went to trial, the last specified amount of damages was $500,000, according to court filings.