Kobe Bryant Helicopter Crash Lawsuit: NBA Star's Death Cost The Family 'Hundreds Of Millions'
By Mike Walters on June 8, 2020 at 10:22 AM EDT
Gettyimages | Harry How
Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa, is making it clear in her wrongful death lawsuit against the helicopter company and pilot's estate -- the NBA star's death cost the family ' hundreds of millions' of dollars in future lost earnings.
According to new legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Vanessa Bryant is telling the court she is entitled to damages, as a result of her husband's untimely death, that will be in the hundreds of millions.
"As a result of Kobe Bryant's and GB's deaths, Vanessa Bryant seeks economic damages, non-economic damages, prejudgment interest, punitive damages, and other relief as the Court deems just and proper," the filing reads.
But, for the first time, Vanessa is specific about the damages she believes are owed as a result of the actions of the helicopter company and the chopper's pilot.
"Although the total specific amount of personal injury damages that Plaintiff seeks is TBD, Kobe Bryant's future lost earnings equal hundreds of millions of dollars," the document states.
As we previously reported, Vanessa Bryant filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that operated the helicopter that crashed killing the NBA star and the couple's young daughter.
NTSB
In the lawsuit, Vanessa accuses the pilot of being reckless for flying in such poor weather and says the helicopter should have never left the ground. She also claims the company's "breach of its duty and negligence caused the injuries and damages" and says Kobe and Gigi were "killed as a direct result of the negligent conduct" of the pilot who failed "to use ordinary care in piloting the subject aircraft."
At the time, Vanessa claimed the company had knowledge that the pilot had previously violated 'weather-related flight rules in 2015,' and as a result, "employed Defendant Zobayan with conscious disregard of the rights or safety of others and authorized or ratified his wrong conduct, and itself engaged in conduct with malice, oppression, or fraud."
According to the new filing, the lawsuit has been stalled and they "cannot initiate discovery" until the NTSB Accident Report is released. At this time, the crash is still under investigation.
In the documents, it is also revealed the pilot's family intends to file a "motion to transfer venue to a county outside Los Angeles County on the grounds that an impartial jury cannot be empaneled in Los Angeles Superior Court in this matter."
In other words, this is a Lakers town and they don't believe they will get a fair shake.
Vanessa Bryant's position makes sense considering the fact that Kobe would have continued to earn massive amounts of money in the Entertainment and Sports businesses if he were still alive. But, her legal team will still have to prove the company and/or the pilot are responsible for the tragic accident.
The case is ongoing.
