Vanessa Bryant settles lawsuit filed against her by her mother
Vanessa Bryant has settled a lawsuit filed against her by her mother, Sofia Urbieta Laine.
Laine filed a notice of unconditional settlement Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court, indicating that a request for dismissal would be filed within 45 days. Terms of the settlement were not released.
Laine accused Bryant of fraud in a lawsuit filed Dec. 15, alleging she had worked for years without pay as a “personal assistant and nanny” to her daughter's family and that Bryant's husband, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, had promised to support Laine financially before he died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26, 2020.
“Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant’s promise did not see the light of day as he is now deceased and Vanessa Bryant took each and every step she could to void and cancel all of Kobe’s promises,” the lawsuit alleged.
Vanessa Bryant responded two days later, accusing her mother of attempting to “extort a financial windfall” following Kobe Bryant's death. She has control of an estate that financial experts valued at as much as $600 million after he died.
“My husband never promised my mother anything, and he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy,” Vanessa Bryant said in her statement.
Laine responded the following day with a statement of her own.
"All I wanted is what I worked for. Vanessa, despite everything that I have been promised and done for her and the family, has attempted to sever all ties and renege on all obligations and agreements," she stated.
In June, Vanessa Bryant was part of a group that settled wrongful death lawsuits against the company that operated the helicopter involved in the crash that killed her husband and their daughter Gianna, as well as John Altobelli, his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa; mother and daughter Sarah and Payton Chester; Christina Mauser; and pilot Ara Zobayan,
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
