LA County Will Ask Again For Kobe Bryant Crash Photos Lawsuit to Be Dismissed
Lawyers have told the trial judge they will renew a dismissal request, claiming Vanessa Bryant didn’t show enough evidence to hold Los Angeles County responsible for ghoulish crash scene photos.
Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, leaves the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2022. She is suing the county for graphic photos taken by first responders at the scene of the helicopter crash that killed her husband. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The federal civil case over photos taken at the scene of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash isn’t over, even though a jury last week reached a verdict and awarded millions of dollars in damages to the basketball great's widow.
According to an entry in the court record system Monday, LA County plans to renew its request to dismiss the jury’s decision and financial award because it says the evidence presented at trial failed to meet the legal thresholds required to prove wrongdoing.
The jury found Wednesday that LA County was responsible for the Sheriff’s Department deputies and Fire Department firefighters who took photos of human remains they saw at the crash site and exchanged them for entertainment.
Jurors awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million. Christopher Chester, who’s wife Sarah and 13-year-old daughter Payton were also killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
“LASD and LACFD did not violate Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights,” the County’s lawyers argued in the motion first filed Aug. 21. “Defendants respectfully request that the Court grant judgment as a matter of law.”
NBCLA
From top-left, clockwise: Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli and pilot Ara Zobayan, died on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, after the helicopter they traveled in crashed in Los Angeles.
Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers leaves the court after the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 14, 2014 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bryant passed Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list with a free throw during the second quarter.
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ORLANDO, FL – JUNE 14: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers smiles with his wife Vanessa and his daughters Natalia and Gianna after the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Game Five of the 2009 NBA Finals on June 14, 2009 at Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. Kobe and Gianna tragically died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, Jan. 26, 2020. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 17: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks during the post game news conference with daughters Natalia and Gianna Bryant as he celebrates after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game Seven of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center on June 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on November 17, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
OCC
This undated photo released by Orange Coast College shows its head baseball coach John Altobelli. The Altobelli family has confirmed that John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa were among those killed in the helicopter crash with NBA icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in Calabasas, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. Alyssa played on the same team as Gianna, said Altobelli’s brother Tony, who is the sports information director at the school. (Orange Coast College via AP)
John Altobelli, Wife Keri and Daughter Alyssa Just as Bryant was passionate about basketball, John Altobelli had a deep love for the game of baseball. He coached at Orange Coast College. He was with the program for 27 years, leading the Pirates to four state titles en route to more than 700 career wins. Last year, he was the American Baseball Coaches Association as an ABCA/Diamond National Coach of the Year. Wife Keri and daughter Alyssa also were killed in Sunday's crash.
Family Photo
Payton played basketball with Bryant's daughter Gianna. Family members said she loved playing the game and described Sarah as the heart of their family.
Courtesy of Margaret Bray
Ara Zobayan, described as an experienced instructor and charter pilot who had flown celebrities like Kylie Jenner and her niece Dream and Lorenzo Lamas, was at the helm of the helicopter as it traveled to Newbury Park where the girls aboard were to have a basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy. He and all aboard, including Kobe Bryant and his daughter, perished in the crash Jan. 26, 2020.
Christina Mauser was a girls basketball coach at a nearby private elementary school. She is survived by her husband, who founded a popular Orange County band, and three young children. Her husband said she worked with Bryant at a clinic at Mamba Sports Academy.
U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter denied that motion, but now the court and attorneys have agreed on a schedule for the County to argue the issue for a second time.
Vanessa Bryant announced last week that she would donate the jury award to the nonprofit Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which provides sports education to underserved athletes.
“From the beginning, Vanessa Bryant has sought only accountability, but our legal system does not permit her to force better policies, more training or officer discipline,'' her attorney Luis Li said in a statement first reported by the L.A. Times.
