Judge rules Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa must turn over private therapy records

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Be careful what you wish for.

NBA

Judge rules Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa must turn over private therapy records

Brent Schrotenboer
USA TODAY
Published 5:28 p.m. ET Nov. 15, 2021

A federal magistrate judge on Monday ruled that Kobe Bryant’s widow must turn over her private therapy records to Los Angeles County as part of her lawsuit against the county over photos of her dead husband and daughter.

In his ruling, Charles Eick ordered Vanessa Bryant and her therapist to produce the documents by Nov. 29. He also ordered her to turn over records dating to January 2017 after the county had asked for her records dating to January 2010.

“The requests are plainly relevant to the claims and defenses herein and, as narrowed by this order, the requests are proportional to the needs of the case,” Eick wrote in his ruling.

Bryant is suing the county for invasion of privacy, alleging that county first responders improperly shared photos of human remains from a helicopter crash last year that killed nine, including the NBA legend and her daughter. She is seeking damages from the county because she claims to have suffered emotional distress because of it.

{snip}

[PoliticAverse]

1. "It wants to show that Vanessa Bryant didn't suffer emotional distress from any sharing of photos

taken at the site of a helicopter crash last year that killed nine, including the NBA legend."

"Instead, the county is trying to show that her emotional distress essentially came from the loss of her family members in the crash itself."

When you sue someone expect your life to be invaded to some degree.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Just Feels Wrong

I know how discovery works in a civil trial, but an opinion not rooted in legal expertise, it doesn't, on its face, seem relevant.
The pictures of her dead child & husband were, in fact, released without proper authorization or family approval.
Not sure a public right to know was served by their release.
It just seems wrong.

[WarGamer]

4. FYI the pictures were NOT released publicly.

Unless you really twist the definition of public...

Some officers took phone pics at the crash site and in an unofficial capacity showed the pictures to a handful of civilians (friends or acquaintances).

It's still really bad... but there were NO publicly released photos, thank Goodness.

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Disagreement On Terms

Those friends and acquaintances are the public. I didn't intend to imply they were released to media.
Other than that, we agree on the shabbiness on the part of those who did this.
And, I still don't see how her therapy records are relevant, other than a very strict upholding of discovery rules.
(I've been through the discovery process 6 times in civil suits where I was an expert witness. All federal. It is exhaustive & painful. Not as bad as being deposed, but bad.)

[marble falls]

3. That doesn't make sense. Unless she's using those files in her complaint.