Photo: Getty Images
Vanessa Bryant has reached a $28,850,000 settlement with Los Angeles County in the lawsuit over photos taken after the helicopter crash that killed her husband and NBA superstar Kobe Bryant along with their 13-year-old daughter Gianna in January 2020, per ABC News.
"Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant's courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct. She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice," Luis Li, Vanessa Bryant's attorney, said in a statement regarding the settlement.
Chris Chester, a co-plaintiff in the suit whose wife and daughter were also killed in the 2020 helicopter crash, settled for $19,950,000.
LA County attorneys said they hope the Bryants and Chesters are able to heal from their devastating losses.
"We believe the settlement approved by the Board in the Bryant case is fair and reasonable. The $28,850,000 settlement includes the verdict awarded by the federal jury in August 2022, and further resolves all outstanding issues related to pending legal claims in state court, future claims by the Bryant children, and other costs, with each party responsible for its respective attorneys' fees," Mira Hashmall, lead trial counsel for LA County in the Bryant-Chester case, said in a statement.
On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and Gianna were on the way to a Mamba Sports Academy game when the helicopter they and others linked to the basketball program were traveling in crashed in Calabasas. All nine passengers of the helicopter were killed.
In the aftermath of the crash, Vanessa Bryant sued Los Angeles County for negligence and invasion of privacy, accusing first responders of taking graphic photos of her family's human remains and sharing them with others like "souvenirs."
A jury awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million in August 2022 following her invasion of privacy trial.
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