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Vanessa Bryant Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Helicopter Crash That Killed NBA Legend & Daughter – Update

(Updated with more material) Vanessa Bryant has settled the wrongful death lawsuit she launched last year over the helicopter crash that killed her NBA legend husband and eldest daughter Gianna along with seven others in January 2020.

“The material terms of the settlement and releases are known to the settling parties and include that the terms of the settlement are confidential,” stated the filing today in Los Angeles Superior Court over the tragic matter that left the City of Angels and basketball fans everyone in deep mourning. “The settling parties are currently finalizing settlement documents, which include the necessary documentation for approving compromise of the minors’ claims,” the 7-page “Joint Notice of Settlement and Joint Request to Vacate Discovery Deadlines” said.

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Still pending final paperwork to be present to the court, Bryant reached the settlement in concert with the three families whose loved ones were also killed in the horrific chopper accident on January 26, 2020 that ended the life of the Los Angeles Lakers alum and his basketball prodigy offspring. Helicopter owners Island Express Helicopters and the estate of pilot Ara Zobayan, who perished himself in the crash, were named as defendants.

In the February 24, 2020 lawsuit, the widow of Kobe Bryant and her attorneys claimed that weather conditions on the day of her husband and daughter’s death were clearly not suitable for flying. The suit laid out conditions that pilot Zobayan failed to address before and during the fatal flight that January 2020 morning out of Orange County,

That premise was backed up by the National Transportation Safety Board earlier this year. A NTSB probe of the accident released its findings in February and determined that pilot error was directly behind the crash. Specifically that Zobayan was in violation of both his training and federal rules that warn against flying into heavy clouds, as the helicopter pilot did that day.

Along with the two Bryants and Zobayan, Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester and Christina Mauser also died in the crash.

While this suit out of the Bryants’ death looks to be closed, Vanessa Bryant’s legal action against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over graphic and bloody photographs taken by deputies at the accident site and then widely shared continues. Bryant initiated the damning lawsuit against department, Sheriff Alex Villanueva, and the county in September of last year.

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