LA: Vanessa Bryant's 'Scorched Earth' Lawsuit Is Too Much

County complains in new court filing
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 19, 2021 1:04 AM CDT
LA Complains About Vanessa Bryant's 'Scorched Earth' Lawsuit
Vanessa Bryant holds hands with her daughters Capri and Bianka as she leaves the stage with her late husband Kobe Bryant's 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame trophy after accepting the award of behalf of him, Saturday, May 15, 2021, in Uncasville, Conn.   (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Vanessa Bryant is going too far in her lawsuit against Los Angeles County over photos from the site of her late husband Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash, the county says in a new court filing. Bryant, in her pursuit of information about sheriff's deputies and fire department employees who allegedly shared gruesome photos from the site, is conducting a "scorched earth ... fishing expedition that is taking first responders away from their jobs—and subjecting them to public harassment and threats," the filing says, per USA Today. Bryant had, last week, asked for more time to gather evidence in the case as new information had come to light, Reuters reports.

She wants the trial pushed back to April, but in the new filing, the county notes that the defendants are "eager to have their day in Court and put an end to this" and argues that there is no basis for an extension of the discovery period. The filing argues that only government personnel and one friend saw the photos, and that they were never publicly disseminated. "Plaintiff has dedicated countless hours to meaningless discovery disputes and posting recklessly about the Defendants on social media—all while taking the position that her 50 depositions cannot begin until she has every single document in the County’s possession," the filing says. "Plaintiff posted the Deputy Defendants’ names online, and they were subjected to harassment and threats." (More Vanessa Bryant stories.)

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