A judge has ruled that Vanessa Bryant, widow of deceased Lakers star Kobe Bryant, will not have have to undergo psychiatric evaluation as part of her lawsuit against Los Angeles County over photos leaked of the helicopter crash that killed her husband.
Bryant sued the county last year, allegeing she and her family suffered emotional distress after learning L.A. County sheriff's deputies took and shared images of the January 2020 crash scene in Calabasas.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick said the county's motion to compel psychiatric evaluation, to determine whether Bryant's distress was in fact caused by the photos and not losing her husband and daughter, was untimely given that a trial is set for February 2022.
The judge denied a similar request on Monday to have another plaintiff who has sued the county over the photos, Christopher Chester, under goe evaluation. He lost his wife, Sarah, and 13-year-old daughter in the crash.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider approving a settlement on Tuesday with two other families who lost loved ones in the crash and sued over the leaked photos.
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