Vanessa Bryant closes book on legal battle against LA county
Vanessa Bryant is closing the book on her legal battle against Los Angeles County.
According to court documents released on Feb. 28, the 40-year-old and county officials "have entered into a settlement agreement resolving the claims asserted by Vanessa Bryant." Vanessa was previously awarded $16 million after a jury found that her privacy was invaded when authorities shared unauthorized photos from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant.
In the filing, Vanessa's legal team noted "the settlement agreement also resolves similar claims" from her and Kobe's daughters Natalia, 20, Bianka, 6, and Capri, 3. It's conditional on court approval concerning her minor children.
The family will receive nearly $29 million as part of the settlement, according to Mira Hashmall, partner at the Miller Barondess law firm and lead trial counsel for L.A. County in the case.
"We believe the settlement approved by the Board in the Bryant case is fair and reasonable," she said in a statement to NBC News. "The $28,850,000 settlement includes the verdict awarded by the federal jury in August 2022, and further resolves all outstanding issues related to pending legal claims in state court, future claims by the Bryant children, and other costs, with each party responsible for its respective attorneys' fees."