Tweet
Kobe Bryant Officially Settles Civil Lawsuit Filed by Accuser
Ending a sordid case involving one of the NBA's brightest young stars, Kobe Bryant and the 20-year-old woman who accused him of rape nearly two years ago settled her civil lawsuit against him Wednesday.
Terms were not released. A statement faxed to The Associated Press by Bryant's attorneys said only that the matter had been resolved "to the satisfaction of both parties."
"The parties and their attorneys have agreed that no further comments about the matter can or will be made," the statement said. A motion to dismiss the case was filed simultaneously in Denver federal court.
A Los Angeles Lakers spokesman said Bryant declined to comment on the settlement. Bryant was in Boston for a game against the Celtics and was unavailable before the game.
The lawsuit, filed three weeks before the criminal case against the NBA star collapsed last summer, sought unspecified damages for mental injuries, public scorn and humiliation the woman said she has suffered since their June 2003 encounter at the Vail-area hotel where she worked.
Bryant, a married father of one, has apologized for his "behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered," but has insisted the sex was consensual.
Speculation that a settlement was close increased Monday after L. Lin Wood, one of the woman's attorneys, said Bryant's long-awaited deposition three days earlier had been called off. Legal experts said a settlement would be in the best interest of both parties because it would spare them the expense and possible embarrassment of a trial.
Bryant, 27, has never been questioned under oath about what happened in his hotel room as he prepared for knee surgery in Vail the next day.
The accuser is now married and pregnant. Like the criminal case, the civil case ultimately would have rested on the testimony of a woman the defense suggested was a promiscuous, attention-seeking liar.
The lawsuit was similar to the outline of the criminal case, accusing Bryant of flirting with the woman during a tour of the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera. After the two ended up in his room, they began to kiss and Bryant became more aggressive, finally holding her by the throat while he raped her, the lawsuit said.
Source: AP
Comment