Los Angeles (AP) — A federal jury said Wednesday that the Los Angeles County will rule in the emotional distress caused by lawmakers and firefighters sharing a photo of the NBA star and his daughter’s body taken at the site of a 2020 helicopter crash. The county must pay Kobe Bryant’s widow $16 million.
A nine-member jury, who delivered a unanimous verdict, found Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys guilty that the photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna violated her privacy and caused her emotional distress. I agree with the opinion of
The jury deliberated for four and a half hours before reaching a verdict. Vanessa Bryant cried quietly while reading it.
A county attorney declined to comment on the verdict out of court.
The photos were shared primarily between LA County sheriffs and fire department employees, some of whom were playing video games and attending awards ceremonies. They were also seen by some of the spouses and in one case by the bartender at the bar where the deputy was drinking.
A month after losing her husband and daughter, Vanessa Bryant said at an 11-day trial that news of the photos made her still raw grief worse and that she might still be there. He tearfully testified that he was having a panic attack with his thoughts.
“I live in fear of being on social media every day and the fear of these things popping up,” she testified. These pop up.”
Co-plaintiff Chris Chester, who was among nine people whose wife and daughter also died in the accident, was paid $15 million.
Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys did not give the jurors the amount they thought their client deserved, but Chester’s attorneys proposed guidelines that would mean tens of millions of dollars for each plaintiff.
Vanessa Bryant’s attorney Louis Lee told jurors that the close-up photos were not official or for investigative purposes, but merely “visual gossip” shared out of terrifying curiosity.
County Attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that photographs were a necessary tool to assess the situation.
She acknowledged that she should not have shared them with everyone who saw them. She said it meant that Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials acted decisively and effectively when they ordered people who had the photos to remove them.
Former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion, and Basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was accompanying Gianna and seven other youths to a basketball game when the helicopter they were in crashed. crashed in the Calabasas Hills west of Los Angeles. January 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash.
A jury gave its verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated on Aug. 24. Tuesday was Kobe’s 44th birthday.
