RIP Kobe Bryant

Their worth should have nothing to do with it.

 

That's why the penalties should be public and personal, and massive.

As many have noted, Vanessa Bryant and the rest of Kobe's heirs have plenty of money. Millions and millions, probably hundreds of millions of dollars. However much they get awarded from any plaintiffs, the taxpayers, the pilot, the helicopter company, the responders, it ain't a cupful of piss in the Pacific to them financially.

What matters is their husband and father, daughter and sister, are gone. They died horribly. I read the autopsy reports, which are available on the internets, and they are awful, which we already knew, and I've read a lot of accident reports and taken accident scene pictures myself. No I did not look at any pictures of the Kobe crash.

No matter if Vanessa et al are awarded 10 cents or 10 billion dollars in any lawsuit, Kobe and Gigi are never coming back, and their deaths will never be any less horrible. But those pictures don't have to be spread all over the world for sick fucks to look and laugh at, and the way to do that is to assess penalties that are so personally thunderous that people think, "Oh my fuckin god, I just better never ever do that" about spreading them around. Anybody who's ever shared or saved or forwarded those pictures should have reason to worry, "oh shit, what if somebody traces my IP address?"

 

The taxpayers didn't share the photos.

The taxpayers are footing the bill.

The taxpayers will see their taxes rise or services decline over something they had nothing to do with.

I'd feel a little less uneasy if the monetary award went to building something useful for the city named after the victims.

 

One, insurance.

Two, by that logic government agencies should never be sued for anything even when they royally mess up.

 

“As a direct and proximate result of the aforesaid negligence and carelessness on the part of defendant Zobayan, Kobe Bryant was killed,” the lawsuit states.

I wonder how the family of the helicopter pilot feels, after Vanessa and her wolfpack of lawyers went scorched earth on the estate of the pilot.

We all read the reports. The pilot became disoriented in bad weather, and crashed the helicopter into the side of the mountain. That type of mistake has been known to afflict other pilots in similar situations. He paid for his mistake with his life. But that wasn't enough for Bryant. She had to make sure his name was dragged through the mud, and his paltry estate raided. Taking the high road was never an option apparently for the Bryant family.

 

Agree they deserve to be punished but 1) if the purpose of punitive damages is to punish the wrongdoers, then the reward doesn’t need to go to the family and 2) municipalities typically are outmanned in these types of litigation.

 

So we’re at the part of the program where we shit on the person who lost her husband and daughter and friends in an accident that happened as the result of foreseeable circumstances.

Yes the pilot had a family too but the pilot or the pilot’s company should have said no because

 

I guess the question is by what extension "they" applies vs. an individual person WRT fault. Unless the nefarious action was ordered by and/or sanctioned by the employer, I think punishment by and large should be limited to the employee (or ex-employee, as the case may be).

 

Is this loser still a 'hero'? Please discuss, in light of recent developments.

 

My only question about the settlement would be wondering if a jury or judge would rule a higher amount. I don't see it. Anyone who idolized Kobe that much, wouldta probably also be aware that $28m is significant to taxpayers, and a $10m judgment would send the same message to the county.

 

The problem is the person acting on behalf of another is regarded to be an agent of the other entity/company/person. They were asked to take pictures as part of their job and then passed those pictures around. They were acting as agents of the county when they got the pictures and could not have passed around those photos unless they were acting as agents of the county.

It is a troublesome place if all a company has to do is say "well I didn't tell them to do that" and not be held responsible for what an employee does to you. I didn't tell the guy to not put an extra bolt on the light stand that fell on you, can't sue me. I didn't tell the cop to pass around photos that POS gossip rags will pay thousands of dollars to get, can't sue me.

That isn't how that should work.

Also, what Playthrough said.