Supervisors to Consider $2.5 M Settlement Related to Kobe Bryant Crash

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday volition see approving a $2.5 cardinal colony for 2 families suing implicit the unauthorized sharing of photos of the Kobe Bryant chopper crash, successful which their loved ones besides were killed.

Under the projected settlement, Matthew Mauser would person $1.25 cardinal and siblings J.J. Altobelli and Alexis Altobelli would stock different $1.25 million, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Mauser’s wife, Christine, and the Altobellis’ mother, begetter and younger sister—Keri, John and Alyssa—died successful the Jan. 26, 2020, clang that besides killed Bryant, his girl Gianna, and 3 others.

A study from the County Counsel recommended the colony to “avoid further litigation costs,” according to the LA Times.

The region has already spent astir $1,292,592 successful fees and ineligible costs successful the 2 cases, the LA Times reported.

The Altobellis and Matthew Mauser filed abstracted national lawsuits against the region alleging they suffered affectional distress aft an LA Times probe revealed that Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and Los Angeles County firefighters took and shared clang country photos for purposes extracurricular instrumentality enforcement.

“We judge these projected settlements of $1.25 cardinal are tenable and just to each concerned,” lawyer Skip Miller, of Miller Barondess who represented the county, told the LA Times.

“We are pleased that the Mauser and Altobelli families, who arsenic backstage citizens suffered the aforesaid grief and nonaccomplishment arsenic others, volition beryllium capable to determination guardant aft these settlements, which are taxable to last support by the Board of Supervisors. We besides anticipation that yet the different families volition beryllium capable to bash the same.”

Bryant’s widow Vanessa sued Los Angeles County past year, alleging that she and her household suffered terrible affectional distress aft discovering that sheriff’s deputies snapped and shared gruesome photos of the chopper clang scene.

The ineligible combat betwixt Vanessa Bryant and the region intensified this week erstwhile region lawyers sought to person Bryant acquisition a psychiatric introspection successful beforehand of the proceedings scheduled for February 2022. Lawyers argued successful tribunal papers that she cannot person terrible distress from clang photos she and the nationalist person ne'er seen.

Bryant won a ineligible triumph this week erstwhile Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and Fire Chief Daryl Osby were ordered to beryllium deposed successful the case.

The LA Times reported that U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick said Villanueva and Osby look to person “unique first-hand, non-repetitive knowledge” comparative to the case. The justice constricted each deposition to 4 hours.