Kobe Bryant’s Wife Vanessa and Other Helicopter Crash Victims’ Families Settle Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa and the families of the other victims of the January 2020 helicopter crash have reached a confidential settlement with the company that operated the helicopter in their wrongful death lawsuit. Each party filed “joint notice of settlement and joint request to vacate discovery deadlines” documents with the court on Tuesday, according to ABC7.

“Plaintiffs and Defendants jointly report that they have agreed to settle their claims in the above-entitled action,” the documents state. Details of the settlement haven’t been revealed and the settlement still needs to be approved by the court. If approved by the court, the settlement would end a negligence and wrongful death lawsuit filed against the estate of the pilot and the owner and operator of the helicopter that crashed into a hillside on Jan. 26, 2020.

Vanessa Bryant filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Island Express Helicopters for the crash that killed the retired Lakers player as well as their daughter Gianna Bryant, her friend and teammate Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, and Keri Altobelli; Payton Chester and Sarah Chester; and Christina Mauser. The suit also names helicopter pilot Ara Zobayan’s estate as one of the defendants.

Sadly, there could be another lawsuit on the way coming from the Bryant family. Vanessa Bryant previously called out Nike for what appeared to be the premature sale of their Mambacita shoe. “This is a shoe I worked on in honor of my daughter, Gianna. It was going to be called the MAMBACITA shoe as an exclusive black and white colorway on her daddy’s shoes,” she wrote on Instagram. “The MAMBACITA shoes are NOT approved for sale. I wanted it to be sold to honor my daughter with ALL of the proceeds benefitting our [Mambacita Sports Foundation] but I did not re-sign the Nike contract and decided not to sell these shoes,” she continued, before adding “Nike has not sent any of these pairs to me and my girls. I do not know how someone else has their hands on their shoes I designed in honor of my daughter Gigi and we don’t.”

The past holiday certainly served as a reminder of the family’s loss. Vanessa Bryant shared a photo of her late husband posing with all of their children on Father’s Day. “To the best girl dad~ Happy Father’s Day, Papi. We love you forever and always, always and forever. Love you always, Nani, Gigi, B.B, Koko and VB,” she captioned the heartfelt post.