Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa Bryant awarded £13.5m in lawsuit over leaked crash photos
Kobe Bryant’s widow has been awarded $16 million (£13.5m) damages over leaked grisly photos of the helicopter crash that killed the NBA star and his 13-year-old daughter in 2020.
The nine jurors unanimously agreed with Vanessa Bryant that photos taken by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and firefighters invaded her privacy and caused emotional distress. She cried quietly as it was read.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.
The jury deliberated for four-and-a-half hours before reaching the verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, celebrated in LA on August 24 because it represents his jersey numbers - 8 and 24 - and is the day after his birthday. Bryant would have turned 44 on Tuesday.
After the verdict, Vanessa Bryant posted a photo on Instagram of herself with her husband and daughter.
“All for you!” the caption read. "I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi!”
An attorney for the county declined comment on the verdict outside the courtroom.
The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA County sheriff’s and fire departments, including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. They were also seen by some of their spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up,” Ms Bryant testified.
She said she also feared her daughters would stumble upon the pictures online.
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million (£12.7m).
“We’re grateful for a jury and a judge who gave us a fair trial," said Mr Chester’s lawyer Jerry Jackson.
Ms Bryant’s attorneys did not give jurors a dollar amount they thought their client deserved, but Mr Chester’s attorney gave them suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.
Ms Bryant and her attorney declined to comment outside court. Her face was still streaked with tears as she walked past TV cameras and dozens of reporters and climbed into an SUV.
Kobe Bryant, the former LA Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were in crashed into some hills on in January 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed a pilot error for the crash.