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Vanessa Bryant reaches nearly $30 million settlement with Los Angeles County in lawsuit over Kobe Bryant crash photos

MGN
Originally Published: 28 FEB 23 22:05 ET

    (CNN) -- Vanessa Bryant has reached a nearly $30 million agreement with Los Angeles County to settle a lawsuit over photos that were taken at the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, her daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others.

Bianka Bella Bryant, and Capri Kobe Bryant, the youngest daughters of the Bryant family, were named in the lawsuit, along with their mother.

"Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant's courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct," Luis Li, an attorney representing Bryant, said in a statement to CNN. "She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice."

In August 2022, a federal jury found the Los Angeles County Sheriff's and Fire departments liable for infringing on the constitutional rights of Bryant and her co-plaintiff Christopher Chester for taking and sharing gruesome photos of the January 2020 helicopter crash that left nine people dead.

The photos included not just wreckage of the helicopter but close-up images of the mangled bodies of those killed.

Bryant and Chester argued that the photos of their loved ones caused emotional distress and violated their privacy. Each testified to living in fear the photos may surface, despite the county's assertion the pictures had been destroyed.

Mira Hashmall, lead counsel for Los Angeles County, said the settlement concludes all county-related litigation related to the helicopter crash, said in a statement.

"We believe the settlement approved by the Board in the Bryant case is fair and reasonable. The $28,850,000 settlement includes the verdict awarded by the federal jury in August 2022, and further resolves all outstanding issues related to pending legal claims in state court, future claims by the Bryant children, and other costs, with each party responsible for its respective attorneys' fees.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Kerry Mannix

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