Kobe case might be coming to a court near you

Marisa O’Neil

The hubbub that surrounded the Kobe Bryant rape case in Colorado

earlier this year could be headed for Orange County.

Attorneys for Bryant’s accuser said on Monday that they are

considering filing a civil suit in Orange County against the Los

Angeles Laker and Newport Coast resident. That move would give the

20-year-old woman the chance to collect more money in damages than if

the case stayed in Colorado.

“We’ve looked into Orange County quite a bit lately,” said John

Clune, an Eagle, Colo., attorney for the woman. “We feel comfortable

that the people of that county are pretty well set to try the case

fairly and not give him special treatment just because Bryant happens

to own a very expensive house there.”

The woman, whose name has not been released, accused Bryant of

sexually assaulting her at a Colorado resort in June 2003.

Prosecutors dropped a criminal case against Bryant in September,

although she had already filed a federal suit against him the month

before.

But trying the civil case in Colorado would limit the amount of

money she could collect. Colorado is one of few states in the country

that caps the amount of money awarded for intentional torts, Clune

said.

Civil juries in that state can award only $366,000 for pain and

suffering, though other factors can bring the total up to about $2

million, he said. California has no such limits.

“California does not impose onerous limitations on recovery for

noneconomic damages, i.e., mental and physical pain and suffering.

Colorado does,” said Lin Wood, another attorney for the woman. “A

plaintiff is entitled under law to proceed simultaneously with a

state court action and a federal action.”

Lawsuits in cases where the defendant lives in another state are

often filed in federal court, Clune said. If they filed in Orange

County, the case would be heard in superior court, most likely at the

main courthouse in Santa Ana, said Carole Levitzky, director of

community and media relations for Orange County courts.

Attorneys for Bryant did not return calls for comment.

Attorneys will decide within the next 30 days whether they will

bring the case to Orange County, Wood said. Once that decision is

made, they expect to act quickly, Clune said.

If filed here, it could take 130 more days before the first

hearing happens, Levitzky said. The county has 26 judges that hear

its civil cases, she said.

Orange County Superior Court would treat a Bryant case like any

other, she said, though she would expect more requests from news

organizations. The courthouse does not provide parking for media

trucks, however, and a judge would have to approve any cameras inside

the courtroom.

The media descended on the small town of Eagle for months earlier

this year, following every move in the criminal case.

“It was an enormous circus,” Clune said. “Going into the Greater

Los Angeles area would generate its own level of media attention, but

people don’t usually follow a civil case as closely as a criminal

case.”

Even if the civil case did garner the same amount of media and

public attention, Orange County would be better prepared, Levitzky

said.

“We’re one of the larger courts in the nation,” she said. “The

impact it had on a small court in Colorado would be a little easier

for a larger court to handle.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at [email protected].