If there are running out of money, I presume because of all the lawsuits. There are 4 dead people and 2 injured people, one of whom is really in a vegetative state. Obviously the cost of the lawsuits would be in millions. In my book people who have millions to spare are rich. Most people don't have millions in their accounts, and are actually in debt.
I'm under the impression that liability insurance covered most, if not all, of the civil lawsuit settlements.
The pickup Ethan was driving that night belonged to his father's company and was covered under their liability insurance. The costs for attorneys defending/settling those suits would have been borne by the insurance company.
The family may have taken some hits to their cash assets from the settlements, but not necessarily in the millions. That's what good insurance is for.
Cleburne Metal Works is an LLC -- Limited Liability Corporation. That provides some additional shields for personal assets.
From what I've read in articles, the suits were styled against the Couch family and Cleburne Metal Works. Some of the settlement amounts in the Personal Injury suits were disclosed; the amounts in the wrongful death suits were not. I imagine those amounts were in the millions. At least two of the PI suit settlements include structured payouts over a period of time.
Because of the civil lawsuits, it stands to reason, IMO, that Cleburne Metal Works is taking some degree of a hit on their insurance premiums that would impact their cash flow and, potentially, Daddy Dearest's income. It's also possible that the business is having to absorb a portion of the settlements, depending upon the limits of their liability policy. That, too, could be impacting the company's bottom line and Fred Couch's personal income.
Who knows if he has otherwise invested his income through the years outside of growing the business and real estate.
How deep their cash pockets are and what their ability is to get bank notes isn't really known.
I just can't automatically assume they're rolling in relatively unlimited cash assets, i.e. rich, simply because they own a business and relatively expensive real estate. Who knows how much debt they and/or the business might be carrying.
But, heck, I'll concede that they are wealthier than most people. Obviously the Couches have enough cash or bankability to retain good legal representation for at least three members of the family; most people cannot afford such representation for even one member of their family.
