Los Angeles County must pay Kobe Bryant's widow $16 million for emotional distress caused by the sharing of photos of the bodies of the NBA star and his daughter who died in a helicopter crash.
The photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and their daughter, Gianna, invaded her privacy and brought her emotional distress, according to the jurors who returned the unanimous verdict.
After 4 1/2 hours of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict. As it was read, Bryant cried silently.
Outside the courtroom, an attorney for the county declined to speak.
The pictures were shared by employees of the L.A. County sheriff's and fire departments. A bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking saw them, as well as some of their spouse.
During the trial, Bryant testified that the photos compounded her grief a month after she lost her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks because she thinks they are still out there.
She testified that she lives in fear of being on social media. My daughters are on social media and it scares me.
Chris Chester's wife and daughter were killed in the crash.
Chester's attorney suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions of dollars for each lawsuit, but Bryant's attorneys didn't give a dollar amount.
Luis Li told jurors that the close-up photos were just "visual gossip" shared out of morbid curiosity.
The photos were used as an assessment tool by the county attorney.
She admitted that they should not have been made public. She made it clear that the photos had never been seen by the people who sued them. She said that the action taken by the sheriff and others was decisive and effective.
Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was going to a youth basketball game with seven other people when the helicopter they were in crashed into the hills.
Pilot error was blamed for the crash.
Kobe Bryant Day is celebrated in Los Angeles because it is the day after his birthday and his jersey number is 8 and 24. He would have been 44 years old that day.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
