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A verdict has been reached in the trial for\u00a0Vanessa Bryant\u2018s lawsuit against Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n
The jury in the lawsuit deliberated for less than four hours before coming to their decision, and ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million to\u00a0the widow of\u00a0Kobe Bryant\u00a0and\u00a0co-plaintiff Christopher Chester, according to\u00a0multiple\u00a0reports.<\/p>\n
The jury awarded $16 million to Vanessa and $15 million to Christopher \u2014 who lost his wife, Sarah,\u00a0and 13-year-old\u00a0daughter, Payton, in the same helicopter crash that killed Kobe and 13-year-old\u00a0Gianna Bryant\u00a0on Jan. 26, 2020 \u2014\u00a0the\u00a0Los Angeles Times\u00a0<\/em>reports.<\/p>\n Vanessa and Christopher\u00a0were seeking millions of dollars in damages\u00a0for emotional distress regarding gruesome photos taken by officers\u00a0at the crash site.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Vanessa left the courthouse without making a statement to the press, she took to Instagram later in the day and shared a photo of herself, Kobe, and Gianna,\u00a0which she captioned, \u201cAll for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi! #Betonyourself #MambaDay 8\u202224\u202222.\u201d<\/p>\n Mira Hashmall, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm and lead outside counsel for LA County in the lawsuit, released a statement to ET Wednesday afternoon in response to the verdict.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are grateful for the jury\u2019s hard work in this case. While we disagree with the jury\u2019s findings as to the County\u2019s liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn\u2019t believe the evidence supported the Plaintiffs\u2019 request of $75 million for emotional distress,\u201d Hashmall stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe will be discussing next steps with our client. Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss.\u201d<\/p>\n In May 2020, Vanessa filed a claim against the L.A. County Sheriff\u2019s Department\u00a0for sharing private photos of the Jan. 26, 2020 crash scene in Calabasas, California,\u00a0that left nine people dead, including Kobe and Gianna. <\/p>\n The following September,\u00a0she filed a lawsuit\u00a0seeking punitive damages\u00a0for negligence, invasion of privacy as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit accused\u00a0eight sheriff\u2019s deputies\u00a0of taking cell phone photos\u00a0of the bodies of her late husband and\u00a0late daughter for their personal use.<\/p>\n In her September 2020 filing, Vanessa said that she\u00a0found out about the photos through a\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u00a0report in February and privately reached out to the Sheriff\u2019s Department to ask about the scope of the misconduct and if she should \u201cbrace for pictures of her loved ones\u2019 remains to surface on the internet.\u201d <\/p>\n The documents stated that she was later sent a letter saying the department was \u201cunable to assist\u201d with her questions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sheriff\u2019s Department\u2019s outrageous actions have caused Mrs. Bryant severe emotional distress and compounded the trauma of losing Kobe and Gianna,\u201d the documents read. <\/p>\n \u201cMs. Bryant feels ill at the thought of strangers gawking at images of her deceased husband and child, and she lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online.\u201d<\/p>\n Vanessa was\u00a0among those to take the stand\u00a0throughout the duration of her trial, offering a tearful testimony of her experience.\u00a0She said she was at home\u00a0breastfeeding her then 7-month-old daughter, Capri, when she was alerted to a\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u00a0report about sheriff\u2019s deputies sharing the photos.<\/p>\n \u201cI just remember not wanting to react \u2019cause the girls were in the room,\u201d Vanessa said (via\u00a0CNN<\/em>). \u201cI said, \u2018I can\u2019t do this.\u2019\u00a0\u2026 And I bolted out of the house and I ran to the side of the house so the girls couldn\u2019t see me. I wanted to run\u2026 down the block and just scream. I can\u2019t escape my body. I can\u2019t escape what I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n Vanessa also shared that, to this day, she experiences panic attacks and anxiety over the possibility of seeing the photos from the devastating 2020 helicopter crash.<\/p>\n In one of the more disturbing details she shared, Vanessa said she had to remove comments from her Instagram feed after the\u00a0L.A. Times<\/em>\u00a0story was published. According to her attorney, who shared a screen shot, one of the comments read, \u201cIma leak Kobe\u2019s body.\u201d The comment was accompanied by helicopter and fire emojis.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to remember my husband and my daughter the way they were,\u201d Vanessa said (via\u00a0The Washington Post<\/em>) as she testified through tears. \u201cI don\u2019t ever want to see these photographs shared or viewed.\u201d<\/p>\n The verdict arrives shortly after what would have been\u00a0Kobe\u2019s 44th birthday, on Aug. 23.<\/p>\n \u201cHappy birthday, baby! I love you and miss you so much! #44 \u2764\ufe0f @kobebryant,\u201d Vanessa wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n Along with the sweet message, Vanessa shared a throwback picture of her being embraced by her husband, who is wearing\u00a0a Los Angeles Lakers 2009 championship T- shirt and hat.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n![\"Vanessa](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Kobe-Bryant-and-Gigi-Bryant.jpg\" "\\"Vanessa")
<\/figure>\n![\"Vanessa](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Kobe-and-Gianna-Bryant-1024x622.jpg\" "\\"Vanessa")