If this is true, why is it a civil case and not a criminal case. That speaks volumes for me. People who want justice file criminal charges. People who want money file civil cases. Who knows, he was definitely associated with Shawn, so it could really go either way.
To be fair, it's difficult to present sufficient evidence for a criminal case after 20 years, and the requirements for conviction/judgement differ dramatically. If I am not mistaken, criminal cases require "beyond reasonable doubt," while civil only asks for "preponderance of evidence."
That's probably true, but it does seem rather suspect. I'm not really invested one way or the other. He's innocent until proven guilty, but if he is guilty, then so be it.
I don't know much about the legal system in the US (or elsewhere for that matter), but it seems that at the end of the day, it all comes down to money. It is probably why most of these people got themselves into those parties and into those cars in the first place, right?
I would guess you are probably right!