Federal Judge Issues Ruling On Kobe Bryant Crash Site Lawsuit

Vanessa Bryant filed a lawsuit following the death of her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna. She filed the lawsuit to stop people from sharing photos of the Kobe crash site. Yes, someone thought they could share photos of the accident.

Los Angeles County requested to dismiss Vanessa’s lawsuit over her claim that those photos were leaked. New documents reveal that U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ruled Wednesday that “there are genuine issues of material facts for trial.” Sources reveal that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department trainee deputy Joey Cruz showed some of the photos to a friend.

LA County loses bid to avoid a trial after deputies leaked photos of Kobe Bryant's and daughter's bodies https://t.co/xidQt877HO

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 6, 2022

Judge responds to Kobe Bryant crash site lawsuit

Walter said that his role as a judge in the case is not “to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial.”

Los Angeles County issued the request to have the lawsuit dismissed in November.

Vanessa seeks damages for emotional distress and mental anguish. She claims that LA County Sheriff’s Department deputies took photos of her husband and shared them with other people. Kobe, Gianna, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Alyssa Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, John Altobelli, Christina Mauser, and the pilot Ara Zobayan lost their lives in the crash.

Attorneys for LA County disagree with the ruling. The county said Vanessa’s fear of additional leaks is “not reasonable.” They are trying to protect their country from additional lawsuit.

“The county did not cause Ms. Bryant’s loss and, as was promised on the day of the crash, none of the county’s accident site photos were ever publicly disseminated,” Skip Miller, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm and outside counsel for L.A. County. “The county did its job and looks forward to showing that at trial.”

This is a rather unfortunate development for the Bryant family. Vanessa and her daughters live in a nightmare, and this lawsuit only adds salt tot he injury.  Kobe’s death shocked the world. Fans can’t believe he is gone. Los Angeles Lakers players will continue his legacy. He is the Black Mamba after all.