Kobe Bryant’s widow files wrongful death suit

Attorneys for Vanessa Bryant filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against the company that owned a helicopter involved in a fatal crash last month in which her husband and daughter perished.

The filing asking the Los Angeles County Superior Court to hold defendant Island Express Helicopters Inc. accountable for unspecified damages was made a few blocks from a memorial service held Monday at Staples Center to honor basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and others involved in the Jan. 26 accident.

Bryant is represented by Kansas City-based practitioner Gary C. Robb of Robb & Robb, an aviation attorney whose is one of “the most successful helicopter crash trial lawyers in history,” according to his website. Bryant is represented locally by a team of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP attorneys, headed by the firm’s litigation chair, Brad D. Brian.

Neither Robb nor Brian responded to requests for comment Monday. A call to Island Express Helicopters was also not returned, and counsel information for the defendant was unclear Monday.

According to the complaint, the defendants knew, or should have known, the pilot responsible for the crash had previously been cited by the Federal Aviation Administration for violating visual flight rule minimums “by flying into an airspace of reduced visibility from weather conditions.”

The pilot, George Zobayan, failed to maintain proper control of the flight, failed to keep a safe distance from natural obstacles and failed to properly and safely operate the helicopter, resulting in the crash, according to the complaint.