Los Angeles County will pay $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit to two families whose relatives perished in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash last year.
The Altobelli and Mauser families were suing the county after photographs of the accident were taken and shared by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and firefighters.
The families alleged that they had suffered emotional distress due to the circulation of the photos within the departments and there is still a pending lawsuit involving Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant.
Skip Miller with the Los Angeles-based Miller Barondess law firm provided outside counsel for the county in the case and said he hoped the families could continue on with their lives.
“We believe these settlements of $1.25 million are reasonable and fair to all concerned," he told The Record. "We are pleased that the Mauser and Altobelli families, who as private citizens suffered the same grief and loss as others, will be able to move forward after these settlements. We also hope that eventually the other families will be able to do the same.”
Rodrigo Castro-Silva, with the L.A. County counsel, recommended that the county settle lawsuit, stating that law enforcement officials who participated in the actions had violated the families' “constitutional rights to control the death images of their loved ones and their privacy rights, by taking and sharing photos of their loved ones' remains.”
The county is responsible for the actions of its employees, the recommendation letter added.
“Given the risks and uncertainties of litigation, as well as the tragic accident giving rise to the lawsuits, fair and reasonable settlements at this time will avoid further litigation costs; therefore, full and final settlements of the two cases are warranted,” Castro-Silva said in a letter submitted to the county.