It’s been nearly two years since the untimely death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others occurred in a tragic helicopter crash. In the time since, Vanessa Bryant and her family have been doing their best to find strength and heal; luckily for V, she just won an important ruling in her ongoing lawsuit.
As USA Today reports, Vanessa is suing Los Angeles county for invasion of privacy and negligence. The 39-year-old has reason to believe that employees of the county sheriff and fire department shared photos of remains that had been found at the site of the helicopter crash back in January of 2020.
The LA native requested to compel the pretrial disposition testimony of County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and County Fire Chief Daryl Osby, which was granted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Eick. He ruled that the two men offer “unique firsthand, non-repetitive knowledge relevant to the issues in this case” that could not be obtained through other sources.
The depositions have been limited to a maximum of four hours each so that they don’t intrude on Villanueva and Osby’s official duties. The county was hoping to block testimony, bringing up the argument that heads of government agencies “are not normally subject to deposition, absent extraordinary circumstances.”
In a statement to USA Today, an attorney for the county said, “while we disagree with the court’s decision, we will make both the Sheriff and Fire Chief available for deposition. Their testimony will not change the fact that there is no evidence any photos taken by County first responders have ever been publicly disseminated.”
Earlier this month, Vanessa testified in a deposition that she first found out about the loss of two of her family members via social media. The trial regarding the crash-scene photos is set to take place in February.
For more information, read our earlier story regarding Vanessa Bryant’s ongoing case.
[Via]
