A Los Angeles County jury found Rebecca Grossman and Scott Erickson liable for the deaths of two young brothers, awarding $176 million in damages after a 2020 Westlake Village crash. The verdict included $107 million for the boys’ parents and additional amount
A jury delivered its decision after weeks of testimony that pulled the moments leading up to a 2020 road crash back into focus — and, with it, the cost families will likely carry for years.
On June 3. after five weeks of testimony in a Van Nuys courtroom. jurors announced a verdict in a wrongful death case stemming from the deaths of 11-year-old Mark Iskander and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander. They found Rebecca Grossman. a Southern California socialite. and Scott Erickson. a former Major League Baseball player. liable. and awarded $176 million in damages to the victims’ family.
The award included $107 million for the boys’ parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander. Jurors also awarded an additional $35 million for Nancy and $34 million for the boys’ younger brother, Zachary, for serious emotional distress. Jurors did not decide whether Grossman was negligent because the court had already determined she was negligent and that her negligence was a substantial factor in causing the deaths.
In the verdict, jurors found Erickson was negligent and that his negligence was also a substantial factor in the boys’ deaths.
Mark and Jacob were killed while crossing a road in Westlake Village, California, on Sept. 29, 2020, with their mom and younger brother. The Iskander family later filed a civil suit against Grossman. who had been convicted of second-degree murder in the crash. and against Erickson. her then-boyfriend.
During the trial. the Iskander family’s attorney argued Grossman and Erickson raced toward the intersection after drinking and did not stop when the boys were struck. In that telling. the vehicles sped past people biking and walking as Grossman drove “up to 80-plus mph in a 45 mph zone. ” attorney Brian Panish said.
Witnesses and Erickson testified that Erickson drove through the crosswalk without hitting the boys. But Panish pressed jurors to connect Erickson’s role to the speed and race as well, arguing that Erickson was racing Grossman and therefore shared responsibility.
Grossman’s criminal case had already placed the crash into the record differently. In June 2024. she was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on both murder counts and three years on hit-and-run driving. all to run concurrently. Her criminal convictions stemmed from the same deaths at the same Westlake Village crossing.
What jurors heard about the lead-up to the crash
Before the fatal collision, Grossman, Erickson, and Erickson’s longtime friend, Royce Clayton, went for drinks together. Clayton testified that the three planned to meet at Grossman’s house by the Westlake Lake to watch the presidential debate.
Clayton testified that Grossman and Erickson drove separately afterward — Grossman in a white Mercedes SUV and Erickson in a black vehicle. Clayton, who also is a former MLB player, said he had stopped at a store.
According to testimony at trial. the Iskanders were in the crosswalk when witnesses said they saw and heard vehicles speeding toward them. The black SUV reached the crosswalk first. The boys’ mom, jurors heard, grabbed Zachary and dove out of the vehicle’s path. She testified that she looked up and saw the white SUV pass the spot where Mark and Jacob had been.
Experts testified that Mark likely died within minutes, if not seconds, of being struck. Paramedics took Jacob to a Thousand Oaks, California, hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
What happened after the 2020 crash
Grossman’s criminal case was finalized in stages before this civil trial. In 2024. a jury found Grossman. now 62. guilty of two counts of second-degree murder. two counts of vehicular manslaughter. and hit-and-run driving. She received the 15 years to life sentence on the murder counts and three years on hit-and-run driving. with both parts running concurrently. A court of appeals upheld her convictions earlier this year. and she has since petitioned the California Supreme Court to review her case.
Erickson faced his own legal path. He was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving in 2021. The court ordered judicial diversion, and the case was later dismissed, according to officials.
During the civil trial, Erickson testified over multiple days, under tense questioning from Panish. Erickson said he was not impaired and had not been racing that night. But he also testified that he lied multiple times. including to police and attorneys. about what vehicle he drove at the time of the crash.
Erickson testified that he deleted possibly months of messages between Grossman and himself after the crash. He also said he had not registered the SUV he drove that night. Instead. he testified he would switch out a license plate registered to an older model SUV he also owned — a practice investigators referred to as cold plating.
The defense also pointed jurors toward the roadway. Grossman’s attorney argued the city of Westlake Village was to blame because the condition of the crosswalk contributed to the collision. Jurors disagreed, finding the road was not dangerous.
In closing arguments, Panish suggested jurors could award $439 million in total. Erickson’s attorney suggested $10 million would be fair. Grossman’s attorney asked jurors to return a “reasonable” verdict.
Those competing numbers and accounts ultimately converged on one outcome: liability and damages in a case built around the timing of a moment that ended two children’s lives.
How jurors’ answers could shape the next phase
In their multi-question verdict, jurors responded “yes” to whether Grossman had engaged in conduct with malice or oppression, and that Erickson had done so with malice, oppression, or fraud.
Those responses mean punitive damages could be awarded and prompt another brief phase of the trial. It is expected to include information about the defendants’ financial conditions — details jurors could not consider when determining other damages at the outset.
Panish said he plans to call Grossman’s husband as a witness later this week.
At this stage, the civil case is moving from establishing responsibility and compensatory amounts to what could still be added for punitive purposes — a next step that will require jurors to look not only at what happened on Sept. 29, 2020, but also at what the law allows them to impose next.
Grossman Erickson wrongful death verdict $176 million Iskander boys Westlake Village crash