jury awards – A jury found Rebecca Grossman and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson responsible for a 2020 crash that killed two young boys in a Westlake Village crosswalk, awarding the family $176 million after an eight-week trial. A second phase on punitive
Rebecca Grossman, 62, and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, 58, were found liable for the deaths of two young brothers struck by their vehicles in a Westlake Village crosswalk, with a jury awarding the boys’ family $176 million in wrongful-death and emotional-distress damages.
The decision came Wednesday after an eight-week trial that followed Grossman’s criminal conviction for second-degree murder. She is already serving 15 years to life in prison for fatally striking Mark and Jacob Iskander, 11 and 8, on Sept. 29, 2020.
While Grossman’s Mercedes was the vehicle that hit the boys. jurors also concluded that Erickson acted negligently and that the pair “acted in concert with each other in the course of their activities leading to the fatal collision.” Jurors determined that Grossman acted with malice and oppression. and that Erickson acted with malice. oppression. or fraud.
That finding matters because it means the jury may issue punitive damages, which could add millions more. A second phase of the trial focused on those damages is scheduled to begin Thursday.
The case traces back to events that witnesses described in both the criminal and civil proceedings. Testimony said the two men and women had been drinking margaritas at a Westlake Village cantina before getting behind the wheel in separate SUVs and driving to Grossman’s home to watch a presidential debate.
At the same time. Mark and Jacob Iskander were with their mother and younger brother approaching a crosswalk at Triunfo Canyon Road. Mark was on a skateboard and Jacob wore inline skates. while their mother. Nancy Iskander. began crossing Triunfo Canyon Road at Saddle Mountain Drive on inline skates with her youngest son. Zachary. riding next to her on a scooter. The boys followed a little more than an arm’s length behind.
Expert testimony described how the crash unfolded. The court heard that Erickson and Grossman were speeding along the road. As the family entered the intersection, Erickson drove by them and avoided a collision. Grossman did not—her vehicle struck the two boys at 73 mph, experts testified.
In court, the Iskander family sued Grossman and Erickson as part of a wrongful death case. Their attorney, Brian Panish, asked jurors to award more than $430 million, arguing that evidence showed Grossman and Erickson were street racing and that the verdict would be a “day of reckoning.”
Panish said on behalf of Nancy and Karim Iskander and their surviving son, Zachary, “It’s not an accident when you speed, and you drink, and you drive impaired.” He added, “Who would act like that except someone who thinks they can do whatever they want and there’s no consequences?”
Jurors began deliberating Tuesday morning after closing arguments. During those arguments, Grossman and Erickson’s attorneys argued that, despite the tragedy, there was no evidence supporting claims of racing or impairment that would justify awards in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Grossman is the co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and the wife of prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman. They were separated at the time of the crash. Erickson. who is a former pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. was in a separate SUV ahead of Grossman’s vehicle when the incident occurred.
In the courtroom. Nancy Iskander testified that she began crossing with Zachary next to her on his scooter. and that Erickson’s black Mercedes narrowly missed her and her boys. Experts testified that Mark’s body was found more than 250 feet away. with the vehicle’s grille marks on his body. and that Jacob was found on the other side of the road.
Grossman’s attorney, Esther Holm, urged jurors to separate the actions she described from any alleged behavior by Erickson. In closing arguments before the jury Tuesday. Holm told jurors her client was not impaired by alcohol or valium during the crash and was traveling at about 52 mph—around 7 mph over the speed limit—while also not racing. Holm also told jurors that Grossman did not try to leave the scene after the crash.
“She wasn’t racing; that’s all speculation,” Holm said. She maintained Grossman never saw the children before her car struck them, arguing she was distracted by the boys’ mother “diving out of the way” of Erickson’s vehicle.
Holm further argued that trees and cars limited what motorists could see about the pedestrian crossing sign warning of the crosswalk ahead. She also pointed to data from Grossman’s Mercedes that she said showed anomalies that the jury should disregard. Holm told jurors that the city had received a complaint about that intersection before and said. “The city’s role is significant as much as Ms. Grossman’s and Mr. Erickson’s. The city was on notice of the problem.”.
Jeff Braun. Erickson’s lawyer. emphasized in his argument to the jury that Erickson never hit either boy and that the evidence showed the retired pitcher was not at fault or negligent in the deaths. Braun told jurors. “My client made some stupid. stupid decisions related to this case. ” and said “My client lied to the police. He lied to his lawyers in this case. And that’s a hard. hard hole to dig out of.” He asked for what he described as a reasonable sum for the family’s losses of $10 million.
Panish rejected that framing. saying Braun’s math came down to $340 a day based on the boys’ lives. and he asked for about $430 million. “She speeds and kills them; he’s racing her,” Panish told jurors. He said, “Why are we here?. Because they don’t get it. They don’t admit a single bit of responsibility.”.
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