Suit Seeks $1 Million : Foursome Seeks Cold Cash Over ‘Hot’ Rental Car

Nobody told Shadow Wong that the silver Mercury Marquis she was taking to Las Vegas for the weekend was hot.

That’s because it wasn’t. For awhile, Ajax Rent-a-Car only thought it was.

A company employee had reported the car stolen when it wasn’t where it was supposed to be on the rental lot at Los Angeles International Airport, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. But then the missing Marquis showed up and was ready for service when Wong rented it with a few friends in May of last year and headed for Vegas.

Unfortunately, nobody told the California Highway Patrol.

Pulled It Over

Everything was fine until the CHP spotted Wong, Hsiung Hsiang Wu, Hua Xiang Wu and Bao Jang Zhon on Interstate 15 along the upper reaches of the Cajon Pass.

According to a suit filed by the four, officers pulled the car to the side of the road and leveled shotguns at the unsuspecting Taiwanese, who spoke only enough English to understand that the officers thought the car was stolen--but not enough to convince them that it wasn’t.

Wong and her friends said they were handcuffed and verbally assaulted before they finally convinced officers they had not stolen the car, the suit says. Then, the officers disappeared into the night with the Marquis, leaving the tourists stranded in “bitter cold” beside the road for more than an hour.

Very Bad Night

“They had a nightmarish experience,” said John Samberg, one of the attorneys representing Wong and the other plaintiffs, who are seeking $1 million in damages from Ajax and the CHP.

Cindy Kelly, a manager at the airport lot where Wong rented the car, said she was not familiar with the case but acknowledged that the company was going through a management reorganization at the time that might have made it difficult to keep track of all the cars.

“Something may have fallen through the cracks,” she said.