Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit over Kobe Bryant crash scene photos moved to federal court as L.A. County lawyers start defending case
Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit claiming deputies took graphic photos at the scene of Kobe Bryant’s deadly helicopter crash has been moved to federal court as county officials make their first move in the case.
In a flurry of filings this week, lawyers for Los Angeles County said the transfer is necessary because Bryant’s original complaint filed last month in California state court includes claims for violations of the Fourteenth Amendment, over which federal court has jurisdiction.
The county lawyers also argued the sheriff’s department “is not a proper defendant because it is not a separate government entity but is a department of the county.”
“The county intends to move to dismiss the Sheriff’s Department on that ground,” the lawyers said.
A source in Bryant’s camp said Friday they found it “pretty interesting” the sheriff and the county don’t want to be in their own county court
The widow of the NBA superstar filed her complaint Sept. 17, naming Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the county and up to 100 unidentified “Does” as defendants.
She said “no fewer than eight sheriff’s deputies at the crash site pulled out their personal cell phones and snapped photos of the dead children, parents and coaches” on Jan. 26, the day the helicopter crashed in dense fog in Calabasas, Calif.
The horrific crash killed the Lakers legend, 41, the couple’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.
Her lawsuit includes claims for negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Bryant’s separate wrongful death lawsuit filed against the operator of the doomed helicopter was similarly moved to federal court earlier this month because the defendants filed a cross-complaint against two federal air traffic controllers.
Defendants sometimes seek removal to federal courts for reasons including federal limits on discovery and the belief federal court juries tend to include fewer urban panelists likely to return larger awards.
Bryant married the basketball star in 2001, and they welcomed four daughters together, including their youngest, 1-year-old Capri.
She regularly posts family updates on Instagram showing the couple’s Newport Beach mansion, but she’s making a move to unload a nearby investment property, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
The single-story house purchased in 2013 is on the market for $1.9 million.
The listing with RE/MAX One says the three-bedroom brick exterior Tuscan-style house sits on a cul-de-sac inside the gated community of Summit at Turtle Ridge.
