A federal judge on Wednesday issued a fundamental ruling in favor of Kobe Bryant’s widow, rejecting an application from Los Angeles County to take your claim out of court and instead keep him on track for a jury trial in February.
US District Judge John F. Walter denied the county’s motion for summary judgment and ruled that “there are genuine issues of material fact for the trial.” Walter did not provide a detailed breakdown of those issues, noting that the judge’s role “is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter, but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for the trial.”
Vanessa Bryant is suing the county for invasion of privacy and negligence, charging the county sheriff and fire department employees improperly taking and sharing photos of your dead husband and daughter after they and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
If the judge had agreed to the county’s motion for summary judgment, your lawsuit would have ended, pending any appeal.
“This has always been a question of liability,” Bryant’s attorney, Luis Li, said in a statement Wednesday. “We hope to present the facts to a jury.”
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The county says she the claim has no merit and recently he asked the judge to dismiss it in summary judgment. He said the NBA legend’s widow never saw those photos, that the photos were removed, and that no photos were shared outside of county staff, except when a deputy sheriff showed some photos from the accident scene to a waiter in a restaurant two days after the incident. shock.
The judge rejected this request, citing reasons stated by Bryant’s attorney in opposition to the county’s request for summary judgment.
“Madam. Bryant has gathered extensive evidence of the defendants’ wrongdoing and the harm he has done to her,” reads the document filed last month by Li. “Close-up photos of Gianna’s remains and Kobe went through at least twenty-eight LASD devices and at least a dozen firefighters. And that was just the beginning. The free exchange continued in the days and weeks that followed and included conduct as outrageous as flaunting the photos in a bar while simulating dismemberment and showing the photos with cocktails at an awards gala … The cruel and shocking behavior uncovered by Ms Bryant is more than enough to survive the summary trial. “
Outside county attorney Skip Miller issued a statement after the ruling on Wednesday.
“We respectfully disagree with the Court’s ruling,” said Miller, a partner at the firm Miller Barondess. “The fact is, the county did not cause the loss of Ms. Bryant and, as promised on the day of the accident, none of the photos of the county’s crash site were released publicly. The county did its job and hopes to prove it at trial. “
The judge’s ruling also gives Bryant a new advantage against the county if it is willing to settle the case before trial.
The county previously agreed to pay $ 1.25 million in settlements to two other families who lost loved ones in the same accident. They had filed similar lawsuits for sharing photos, but Bryant has not shown the same willingness to drop their lawsuit in exchange for a payment.
Your lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. to punish the attached defendants and “make an example of them” for the community. She had done her best and spent a lot to gather evidence in this case, including examining nearly 30 electronic devices, taking dozens of pre-trial statements, and serving more than 100 written discovery requests to the defendants. County, according to court records.
In a separate lawsuit last year, she and other families who lost loved ones in the accident. reached an undisclosed settlement to end his wrongful death lawsuits against the owner and operator of the condemned helicopter.
His demand for photos from the accident scene is expected to increase before trial with court battles over what evidence can be shown to the jury. The trial date is February 22 in Los Angeles.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected].
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism