Vanessa Bryant, the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, was one of two plaintiffs awarded a combined $31 million by a jury in Los Angeles County on Wednesday in a lawsuit over photos taken at the scene of the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant; their daughter Gianna; and seven other people.
The jury awarded Vanessa Bryant $16 million and co-plaintiff Christopher Chester, whose wife and daughter died in the wreck, $15 million.
The photos in question were, according to Bryant, an infringement of her right to privacy. The jury agreed with the plaintiffs that the Los Angeles County sheriff and fire departments did not have proper policies in place, which resulted in a subsequent violation of that right.
The photos showed not only wreckage from the helicopter but also gruesome images of those killed in the crash, including Kobe and Gianna Bryant and Sarah and Payton Chester.
Vanessa Bryant and Christopher Chester testified that just the existence of the photos caused them emotional distress out of fear they would eventually surface.
Vanessa Bryant later made an Instagram post with the caption: "All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi!"
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Why did Vanessa Bryant sue Los Angeles County?
After Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident in January 2020, first responders at the scene took photos of the bodies of those killed in the crash.
Up to eight members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department took photos on personal devices. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva later learned of the photos and ordered them deleted, while also calling for a law prohibiting unauthorized photography of victims of a crime or accident. California would pass such a law in September 2020.
“I felt like I wanted to run down the block and just scream,” Vanessa Bryant said in her testimony, per The New York Times. “But I couldn’t escape. I can’t escape my body.”
She spoke in her deposition of feeling dread about the images.
"But now to live the rest of my life having to fear those photographs surfacing is something that I, I have to deal with every single day," she said in October.
What was Los Angeles County's defense?
Attorney Mira Hashmall, who led the county's defense, argued during the trial that Vanessa Bryant's public persona undermined her demand for privacy.
“To claim privacy and then put all these details in public — it defies logic,” she said, per The New York Times.
Another part of the defense's argument was that Villanueva's order to delete the photos once he found about them superseded the lack of an official policy. Attorneys also argued that the photos had a legitimate use as part of the crash investigation and that they were never published.
Hashmall issued a statement after the verdict was announced.
"While we disagree with the jury's findings as to the County's liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn't believe the evidence supported the Plaintiffs' request of $75 million for emotional distress," Hashmall said, per CNN. "We will be discussing next steps with our client. Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss."
