Gupta v. Club Sport: Passengers of a minivan struck by a race car, or their survivors, will receive a total of $2. 96 million under the terms of a June 14 settlement. The estate of the race car's passenger will receive $725,000 from the estate of the car's driver.

The parties settled the claims before Bergen County Assignment Judge Sybil Moses. A trial had not yet been scheduled.

Kenneth Javerbaum, a partner with Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks & Zarin in Springfield, describes the accident as follows. On Sept. 24, 1995, Vatche Kasparian, 29, of Palisades Park, took a 1985 Porsche for a test drive with his brother, Vahe, 43. Vatche, who owned an automotive service facility, Club Sport Autoworks, in Pompton Plains, was modifying the Porsche for sport racing at the request of its owner, Donald Manocherian, a New York real estate executive.

As he drove on Route 9W in Tenafly, Vatche lost control of the car. It crossed a double yellow line, rotated counter-clockwise and struck the front of a minivan occupied by five members of the Gupta family, of Forest Hills, N.Y., and two members of the Agrawal family, of Rego Park, N.Y., who were returning to their homes after a house warming in Bergen County. At the time of impact, the Porsche was traveling at about 89 miles an hour and the minivan was moving at about 35 miles an hour.

Killed in the collision were: Ram Gupta, 40; Amit Gupta, 11, and Kamal Agrawal. Injured were Rekha Agrawal, then 41; Shanti Gupta, then 33; Ritu Gupta, then 9; Anjali Gupta, then 12.

Rekha Agrawal suffered a brain injury, facial injuries and a hip fracture and requires extensive assistance, according to Gerald Baker, a partner with Newark's Baker, Pedersen & Robbins, who represented the Agrawal family. Shanti Gupta suffered hip, wrist and face fractures, Baker says. Ritu Gupta fractured her right ankle and left arm and suffered multiple facial lacerations. Anjali Gupta suffered a head trauma.

James Mahoney, a solo practitioner in Denville, represented the estate of Vahe Kasparian. Michael Marone, a partner with McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney in Morristown, represented Club Sport. Harry McEnroe, a partner with Heim, McEnroe & Uriciuoli in Florham Park, represented Manocherian. Stephen Davis, a partner with Bivona, Cohen, Kunzman, Coley, Yospin, Bernstein & DiFrancesco of Warren, represented the estate of Vatche Kasparian. The attorneys did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Chubb Insurance Co. of Warren paid $2.5 million on behalf of Manocherian, Baker says. Harleysville Insurance of Harleysville, Pa., paid $1 million on behalf of Club Sport under a garage keepers' general liability policy. Newark's Prudential Insurance Company of America paid $200,000 under a family automobile policy issued to Vatche Kasparian's father, Georges Kasparian. Harleysville and Prudential were third-party defendants and Chubb was a fourth-party defendant in the case.

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