Last Updated on October 28, 2021 by CCAR Staff
County Counsel Rodrigo Castro-Silva is urging Los Angeles County’s Supervisors to approve a $2.5-million settlement for two families suing the county over the unauthorized sharing of photos of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, in which their loved ones also were killed. The board will consider the settlements at Tuesday’s meeting.
Under the proposed settlement, presented to the board in a letter from Castro-Silva, Matthew Mauser would receive $1.25 million and siblings J.J. Altobelli and Alexis Altobelli would share another $1.25 million.
Mauser’s wife, Christina, and the Altobellis’ mother, father and younger sister — Keri, John and Alyssa — died in the Jan. 26, 2020, crash that also killed Bryant and four others.
John Altobelli was the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College. Altobelli’s daughter Alyssa was a player on Bryant’s basketball team, a teammate of his daughter, Gianna, who was also killed in the crash near Calabasas. Huntington Beach resident Christina Mauser was a basketball coach at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy
The Altobellis and Matthew Mauser filed separate federal lawsuits against the county alleging they suffered emotional distress after it was revealed that Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and Los Angeles County firefighters took and shared crash scene photos for purposes outside law enforcement.
“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,” Castro-Silva said in his letter.
Castro-Silva said the county has already spent approximately $1,292,592 in fees and legal costs in the two cases.
Bryant’s widow Vanessa sued Los Angeles County last year, alleging that she and her family suffered severe emotional distress after discovering that sheriff’s deputies snapped and shared gruesome photos of the helicopter crash scene.
The legal fight intensified last week when county lawyers sought to have Bryant undergo a psychiatric examination in advance of the trial scheduled for February 2022. Lawyers argued in court papers that she cannot have severe distress from crash photos she and the public have never seen.
Bryant won a legal victory this week when county Sheriff Alex Villanueva and Fire Chief Daryl Osby were ordered to be deposed in the case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick wrote that the defendants in the lawsuit identified Villanueva and Osby as “likely to have discoverable information” whom the defendants may use to support their arguments in the case.
The judge wrote that it appears that both Villanueva and Osby have “unique first-hand, non-repetitive knowledge” relevant to the issues in the case and such knowledge is not entirely obtainable from other sources.
To minimize the effect the timing of the depositions might have on the performance of the sheriff and fire chief’s official duties, the judge ordered the depositions be limited to four hours each.
An attorney defending the county said that although he disagreed with the judge’s ruling, Villanueva and Osby would comply.
“While we disagree with the court’s decision, we will make both the sheriff and fire chief available for deposition,” said the statement from attorney Skip Miller. “Their testimony will not change the fact that there is no evidence any photos taken by county first responders have ever been publicly disseminated.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
