Vanessa Bryant has settled a lawsuit with her mother, Sofia Laine, after accusing her of trying to "extort a financial windfall" from her family, according to a report.
Laine filed the lawsuit in December, making several accusations including that she had worked as an unpaid personal assistant and nanny for her daughter and late husband for years, and said she was owed $200,000, which equated to a rate of $96 an hour for 18 years. Details of the settlement, which was cited by TMZ, are unclear.
In her filing, Laine stated that, before Kobe's death on Jan. 26, 2020, at age 41, he "promised to take care of" his mother-in-law "for the rest of her life," but the promise of help died with him in the helicopter crash that also killed his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
"Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant's promises 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 Bryant's promises made to [Laine]," the filing obtained by People read. "Vanessa Bryant did not intend to honor any of the Bryants' representations, agreements and promises at any stage."
Vanessa dismissed the allegations in a statement to the outlet.
"For nearly two decades, we arranged for my mother to live in our nearby properties, at no cost to her because she had claimed that she didn't have any money to buy her own home after her divorce," she said. "My husband and I felt it was best for her not to live in our home. She watched our girls from time to time, just like most grandparents do. She did not take care of business issues or expenses."
Addressing Laine's claims that she had worked as an unpaid nanny for nearly two decades, Vanessa explained that she only "occasionally babysat my older girls when they were toddlers."
"As of 10 years ago, our kids were full-time students and athletes and I didn't have another child until 2016," she said. "Her claims are obviously false but I still tried, repeatedly, to work things out with my mother."
Vanessa said Laine was "now trying to get more money than my husband and I ever spent to provide for her while he was alive." She noted that her mother has "no regard for how this is affecting my children and me."
"My husband never promised my mother anything," Vanessa added, "and he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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