Vanessa Bryant co-plaintiff reaches nearly $20 million settlement in crash photos case
Los Angeles County has agreed to pay $19.95 million to one of the two plaintiffs in a recent trial over gruesome photos from the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant in January 2020.
The settlement with the family of Chris Chester covers a $15 million verdict awarded to him last month after a two-week jury trial where Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, also won a $15 million judgment. By settling for nearly $20 million, Chester agreed to resolve all pending litigation or future claims by him or his family after he lost his wife and daughter in the same crash.
Bryant has not settled with the county. Both brought their cases to trial in federal court last month after suing the county for invasion of privacy. They alleged that county sheriff’s and fire department employees used their personal phones to share and display photos of their dead family members from the crash scene despite not having a legitimate reason for doing so.
The county board of supervisors unanimously authorized the settlement with the Chester family Tuesday.
“We believe the $19,950,000 settlement with the Chester family is fair and reasonable to all concerned,” said a statement from Mira Hashmall, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm and lead trial counsel for LA County in the Bryant-Chester case. “This amount includes the $15 million verdict awarded to Mr. Chester by the federal jury and resolves all outstanding issues relating to the pending state claims, future claims by the Chester children, attorneys’ fees, and costs. We sincerely hope this settlement will help Mr. Chester and his children move forward with their lives.”
The county last year agreed to pay $1.25 million each to two other families who lost loved ones in the same crash and then filed similar lawsuits over the photos of their loved ones. But Chester and Bryant elected to take their cases to trial, where a jury of nine found that their constitutional right to control the death images of family members had been violated by the sheriff’s and fire departments. The jury awarded them damages for past and future emotional distress after their attorneys argued in court that both now live in fear of these grisly photos resurfacing at any time.
first responders went to the scene, took pictures and shared them. Last year, the families also reached a confidential settlement with the operator of the doomed helicopter.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com