Kobe Bryant’s widow was awarded $16 million as part of a $31 million jury verdict Wednesday against Los Angeles County for deputies and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter and other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash.
The nine jurors unanimously agreed with Vanessa Bryant and
her attorneys that the photos invaded her privacy and caused emotional
distress. She cried quietly as it was read.
The jury deliberated 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict
on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated in LA on Aug. 24 because it represents
his jersey numbers — 8 and 24 — and is the day after his birthday. He would
have turned 44 on Tuesday.
After the verdict, Vanessa Bryant posted a photo on
Instagram of herself with her husband and daughter.
“All for you!” the caption read. “I love you! JUSTICE for
Kobe and Gigi!”
An attorney for the county declined comment on the verdict
outside the courtroom.
The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA
County sheriff’s and fire departments including by some who were playing video
games and attending an awards banquet. They were also seen by some of their
spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial
that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her
husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that
they might still be out there.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these
popping up,” she testified. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social
media and these popping up.”
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were
also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
“We’re grateful for a jury and a judge who gave us a fair
trial,” said Chester’s lawyer Jerry Jackson.
Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys did not give jurors a dollar
amount they thought their client deserved, but Chester’s attorney gave them
suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.
Vanessa Bryant and her attorney declined comment outside
court Wednesday. Her face was still streaked with tears as she walked past TV
cameras and dozens of reporters and climbed into an SUV
Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer Luis Li told jurors that the
close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere “visual
gossip” shared out of a gruesome curiosity.
County attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial
that the photos were a necessary tool for assessing the situation.
She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with
everyone who saw them. But she emphasized that the photos had never appeared
publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs. She said that meant
that Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials had taken decisive and
effective action when they ordered those who had the photos to delete them.
Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion
and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven
others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were aboard crashed
into hills in Calabasas west of Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash. -AP
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