How much is Vanessa Bryant seeking in damages in her suit against Los Angeles County?
No matter how you cut it, nobody should have to face macabre photos of their deceased loved ones and for that, the County will likely have to pay.
With her case against the county now underway, Vanessa Bryant’s attorney has now laid out just what his client is seeking in damages and it’s not a small amount.
Attorney in Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit requests $75 million in damages
According to reports on Wednesday, Jerome Jackson who is actually the attorney fellow plaintiff Chris Chester asked the court to award some $75 million to Vanessa Bryant and his client. Chester - whose wife and daughter were killed in the same helicopter crash that took the life of Kobe Bryant - Vanessa’s husband - and her daughter Gianna. As per reports, Jackson - in his closing arguments - asked for $2.5 million for both Bryant and Chester due to what he deemed two years of “emotional distress.” Jackson also requested $1 million for both Bryant and Chester for each year of future distress - 40 years for Bryant and 30 years for Chester.
“When I reach this point of closing arguments, I’m usually anxious about not asking for too much,” Jackson said during closing arguments on Tuesday. “I don’t have that anxiety today, because I will tell you ladies and gentlemen, you can’t award too much money for what they went through. You can’t stack it too high. You can’t spread it too wide. What they went through is inhuman and inhumane.”
Chronology: From Kobe Bryant’s death to a lawsuit against the county
Prior to Tuesday’s proceedings there had been no indication of a specific amount of money by either Bryant of Chester. That, however, is not the case anymore with Jackson going on to add that half of the money awarded would be on the grounds of the culpability of the Sheriff’s Department, while the other half would be tied to the Fire Department’s involvement.
Sadly, the ongoing case stems from the tragic events which occurred on January 26th, 2020, when Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, along with seven others, were killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles. Kobe and Gianna were on their way, along with other parents, players and coaches, to a youth basketball game at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California. Subsequent to his death, his widow Vanessa and the aforementioned Chester took the decision to sue Los Angeles County. The central charge in the suit was that of invasion of privacy as they accused both the sheriff’s and fire department employees of using their personal cell phones to take photos of the gruesome crash site when they weren’t legally required to do so.
What’s the position of Los Angeles County in the lawsuit?
To date, attorneys for Los Angeles County have argued that at no point were the crash photos posted publicly and moreover allege that the photos were in fact deleted shortly after the crash. Needless to say, Bryant and Chester have both rejected that claim, stating that they continue to “live in fear every day” as they anticipate that someday in the future, they come face to face with the horrible images. To that end, Bryant’s attorney, Craig Jennings Lavoie, stated that fire captain Tony Imbrenda showed crash site photos at an awards gala in February 2020, while sheriff’s deputy trainee, Joey Cruz, allegedly showed the crash photos at a bar just two days after the crash. As things stand, Los Angeles County will be expected to make its closing arguments on Wednesday.