Vanessa Bryant Awarded $16 Million In Lawsuit Against Los Angeles County

Vanessa Bryant has won her lawsuit against Los Angeles County. A jury of ten decided she has suffered & will continue to suffer emotional distress due to the death scene photos on 8 L.A. County Sheriff’s cell phones.

Her fear the photos would someday surface publicly was the basis of her lawsuit.

Lawyers for the country argued the photos never surfaced and have been deleted from the cell phones in question, but indeed the deputies have since shared them with friends, family, and even strangers at a bar. The photos were also shared at a party with fire officials.

In January 2020, the world lost Kobe and Gigi Bryant, along with Sarah and Payton Chester, in a crash.

Wednesday was Kobe’s 44th birthday, but sadly he’s no longer here with us. As the verdicts against the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. and the L.A. County Fire Dept. were read, Vanessa had reportedly broken down sobbing while looking at them one by one in approval. 

Amid closing arguments, the lawyer for Chester sought $32.5milion, but Vanessa’s attorney didn’t ask for a specific amount.

Overall, Chris Chester, who lost his daughter and wife in the helicopter crash, was awarded $15 million, while the jury awarded Vanessa $16million. “Grateful to a jury and judge that gave us a fair trial,” Chester’s attorney, Jerry Jackson, told TMZ. However, the trial lasted two weeks and was, at times, so laden with graphic descriptions.

Vanessa allegedly cried & periodically left the courtroom.