L.A. County says lawsuit over graphic Kobe Bryant crash pics should be dismissed after it took ‘corrective personnel actions’ Nancy Dillon
Graphic souvenir photos of Kobe Bryant’s deadly helicopter crash were snapped and shared by first responders but never “publicly disseminated,” so a lawsuit filed by the hoops legend’s widow has no merit, Los Angeles County claims.
In a new court filing asking for dismissal of Vanessa Bryant’s invasion of privacy lawsuit, county lawyers admit government employees shared accident site photographs internally and with “a bartender in Norwalk,” but they claim the actions were remedied with internal disciplinary action.
3:59 pm UTC Jan. 22, 2021
USA TODAY Sports is marking the first anniversary of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others with a six-day series of stories, photos and videos looking back at the Lakers legend and the aftermath of his death.
In a 72-page complaint, Vanessa Bryant alleged that the helicopter crash in Calabasas, California – which left her husband, daughter and seven others dead – could have been avoided. She claimed the pilot, Ara Zobayan, had shown poor judgment during that Jan. 26 flight. And that his employer, Island Express Helicopters, should be held responsible for the tragic outcome. Plaintiffs deceased, Kobe Bryant, was killed as a direct result of the negligent conduct of Zobayan, the complaint alleges, for which Defendant Island Express Helicopters is vicariously liable in all respects.
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Calling unauthorized photographs of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and nine others “abhorrent and inappropriate,” the husband of one of the victims has sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Christina Mauser, 38, was among those killed in the Jan. 26 crash in Calabasas that claimed the lives of Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, as they flew from Orange County to a youth basketball game.
Matthew Mauser filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that he and his three children suffered an invasion of privacy, emotional distress, humiliation and anxiety “from the realization that photographs of their mother and wife were wrongfully taken, shown and discussed.”