LOS ANGELES – The judge overseeing litigation involving photos taken at the scene of the helicopter crash that took the lives of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others Friday scrubbed a scheduled July 26 trial date, saying he wanted to try the case in August instead.
Records request initiated by 2UrbanGIrls to County counsel have been ignored regarding legal fees paid to the law firm of Miller Barondess. Barondess continues to bill taxpayers in LA County, and in Inglewood, for lawsuits which in theory should be settled by now. Lead attorney Skip Miller receives in excess of $650 / hour, in Inglewood, for the ongoing lawsuit between the mayor and his former aide.
U.S. District Judge John Walter indicated during a pretrial conference that restricted courthouse scheduling due to COVID concerns resulted in his decision to move the trial of Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit against the county of Los Angeles to next month on a date to be determined.
The judge said he still had not decided whether to try Vanessa Bryant’s and Chris Chester’s lawsuits together or separately. Both the NBA star’s widow and Chester made similar arguments — both contend they suffered emotional distress when county workers allegedly snapped and shared graphic photos of the crash scene. Among the victims were Chester’s wife, Sarah, and 13- year-old daughter, Payton.
Walter said he envisioned each case taking about seven days to try in the downtown Los Angeles federal courthouse.
City News Service contributed to this article.
