Kobe Bryant's family reaches settlement over crash scene photos lawsuit
Vanessa Bryant leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Calif. on Aug. 24, 2022. Photo: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The family of Kobe Bryant reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with Los Angeles County over a lawsuit involving photos taken at the scene of the helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others.
The big picture: A federal jury last August awarded $15 million in damages to Vanessa Bryant over emotional distress caused by the photos.
- The verdict in the August case was initially read as $16 million, but was later changed to $15 million.
Driving the news: The $28.5 million settlement resolves future claims by Bryant's surviving daughters and other potential related issues, AP reports.
- "Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant's courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct," Vanessa Bryant's attorney Luis Li said in a statement.
- "She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect," Li said.
The big picture: Vanessa Bryant sued Los Angeles County after learning that first responders to the helicopter crash took unauthorized photos of the scene.
- The photos were shared to at least 28 devices, "and included such outrageous conduct as flaunting the photos in a bar while pantomiming dismemberment," Bryant's lawyers previously said in a statement, Axios' Jeff Tracy reports.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with a statement from the Bryant family's lawyer.