How does father disappoint Pei-Pei when they appear in court in the novel, The Unpassing?

When Pei-Pei and father go to the courtroom to defend themselves against the lawsuit which charges the father with negligence leading to the accusing family's son falling ill, her father turns meek and does not defend himself verbally. Although Pei-Pei recalls that no one was there to enforce the rules, her father signed all the documents given to them by the lawyers and agreed to pay a large settlement. While Pei-Pei never attributes this to the father's discomfort with the English language, it is clear that he feels uncomfortable expressing himself in English and feels intimidated by the white people in the courtroom. This intimidation leads Pei-Pei to completely lose faith in her father's ability to take care of himself or the family.