Attorneys in the Rebecca Grossman civil case are scheduled to return to court this week for a hearing to address a possible $14 million credit toward the jury’s $176 million verdict.
Jurors awarded the damages in the wrongful death lawsuit filed after Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, were struck and killed in a Westlake Village crosswalk. The two boys were hit by a vehicle while crossing Triunfo Canyon Road with their mother and younger brother in 2020.
The Iskander family filed a civil suit against Grossman, convicted of second-degree murder in the crash, and Scott Erickson, her then-boyfriend and former Major League Baseball player, who also was on the road at the time.
During the trial, the Iskander family’s attorney said Grossman, wife of plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, and Erickson raced toward the intersection after drinking and didn’t stop when the two boys were struck. They had sped past people biking and walking, Grossman driving up to 80-plus mph in a 45 mph zone, the lawyer said.
In all, the jury awarded compensatory damages of $107 million for the boys’ parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, plus $35 million for Nancy and $34 million for the boys’ younger brother Zachary – both there when Mark and Jacob were hit – for serious emotional distress.
Jurors also awarded an additional $22 million in punitive damages against Grossman and Erickson.
After the trial, Erickson’s attorney argued that the jury’s award against Erickson should be offset by amounts of what he described as prior partial settlements between Grossman and Nancy and Zachary Iskander.
Because the plaintiffs said Erickson and Grossman were jointly liable, Erickson’s lawyer Jeff Braun argued that the judgment needed to be reduced against his client. He cited the potential offset as $12 million from what was awarded to Nancy Iskander for emotional distress and $2 million from what was awarded to Zachary for emotional distress.
In a response filed earlier this week, an attorney for the Iskander family did not dispute a reduction but opposed the form requested by Erickson. The law does not require the court to “rewrite the verdict” by reducing particular damage findings, according to the brief.
Instead, a $14 million credit should be applied against the total amounts payable by Erickson to Nancy and Zachary Iskander, the lawyer stated.
“The judgment should preserve the jury’s damage findings, apply the $14 million credit once against Nancy’s and Zachary’s aggregate compensatory recovery from Erickson,” the brief stated.
The hearing is scheduled for July 17 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Cheri Carlson is a reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Here’s the latest in the Rebecca Grossman, Scott Erickson civil case
Reporting by Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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By Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
