Jury awards plaintiffs $31 million in lawsuit over photos taken at crash site where Kobe and Gianna Bryant, her teammates and their parents died
Los Angeles After more than three hours of deliberation, a federal jury awarded $31 million in damages after finding the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Fire Departments liable for infringing on the constitutional rights of Vanessa Bryant and co-plaintiff Christopher Chester, who each lost a spouse and daughter in the helicopter crash in January 2020.
Bryant was awarded $16 million in damages and Chris Chester was awarded $15 million.Immediately after the verdict was read, Bryant hugged her attorneys. As she continued to cry, Bryant then tearfully embraced her daughter Natalia in the front row. She left the courthouse without making a statement.
Earlier in the trial, Kobe Bryant's widow leaves court in tears after moment in court 02:35During closing arguments Wednesday, attorneys for Los Angeles County sought to separate Vanessa Bryant's emotional testimony from the legal issues the jury must consider.Hashmall argued the county's actions to delete the photos resulted in them never being distributed publicly, and she argued further that first responders taking photos did not violate Bryant's rights.