The family of a woman killed in a cottage country boating accident has launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against television personality Kevin O’Leary and his wife and against the owner and operator of another boat involved in the crash.

The deadly crash took place on the night of Aug. 24 on Lake Joseph in Seguin Township, about a 45-minute drive west of Bracebridge.

The crash claimed the lives of Gary Poltash, a 64-year-old man from Belleair Beach, Fla., and 48-year-old Uxbridge resident and mother Susanne Brito.

The suit is being brought forward by Brito’s mother, Rosa Ragone, her stepfather Antonio Ragone and her sister Paula Brito. In a statement of claim, lawyers for the family say the suit has been launched to cover funeral expenses, loss of income, mental distress and psychological trauma from Brito’s death.

Among the claims in the suit, the family alleges that the O’Learys were jointly negligent in the crash, going too fast and failing to exercise proper care in the operation of the vessel.

The suit also claims that Richard Ruh, who was operating the other boat, failed to turn on the navigation lights and didn’t have the proper training to operate the boat and that the boat’s owner, Irv Edwards, was negligent in allowing Ruh to operate the vessel.

The suit seeks at least $2 million in addition to costs. 

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

In September, Linda O’Leary was charged with careless operation of a vessel under the Canada Shipping Act. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of $10,000.

Her lawyer, Brian Greenspan, has called the charges “regrettable” and has said that Linda O’Leary is a “cautious" and "experienced boater" who collided with an unlit watercraft on a "dark and moonless night.”

Ruh, a 57-year-old New York resident, was charged with failing to exhibit a navigation light under Sec. 23 of the Canada Shipping Act.

The case is still before the courts.