| Advertisement |
Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors proposed a $1.25 million payoff each for two families who accused county first responders of improperly sharing photos of their relatives who died in the helicopter crash that killed NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant and his daughter. The county posted the proposed settlement terms Wednesday night, according to USA Today.
Advertisement
The lawsuits filed by the Altobelli and Mauser families for invasion of privacy and negligence are similar to legal action filed by Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, and Chris Carter, the husband and father of two others killed in the accident.
"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," said a report from the Los Angeles County Counsel Rodrigo Castro-Silva, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Attorney Skip Miller, who is representing Los Angeles County, said the photos taken at the scene have never been made public and were only shared by county personnel.
The families sued county officials when it was learned that sheriff's deputies shared grim images of the crash scene. The accused county deputies Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russel and Raul Versales, and fire captains Arlin Kahan, Tony Imbrenda and Brian Jordan of sharing the images.
In Vanessa Bryant's case, a federal magistrate judge on Tuesday ordered L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and Country Fire Chief Daryl Osby, to testify in the case, which is expected to go to trial in February.
