CASE CLOSED

Vanessa Bryant Settles Lawsuit With Mom After Public Spat

Sofia Laine claimed she acted as a personal assistant and nanny for the couple, and that her daughter tried to force her out of a home. Bryant denied the “frivolous” allegations.

Vanessa Bryant has reached a settlement with her mom Sofia Laine after Laine sued Bryant for reneging on Kobe Bryant’s alleged promise to financially take care of her in perpetuity. Laine’s lawsuit alleged that, after Kobe’s death in January 2020, Bryant tried to cut all ties with Laine and forced her out of a home Kobe had bought for her. She claimed she served as a personal assistant and nanny for the couple’s children and was owed more than $200,000, or $96 an hour.

Bryant had described her mom’s suit as “frivolous,” claiming Laine only acted in her capacity as a grandmother and occasionally babysat the kids when they were toddlers. “My husband never promised my mother anything, and he would be so disappointed in her behavior and lack of empathy,” she said in a statement last December. In a March filing, Bryant pointed to a statement Laine’s ex made in court between 2004 and 2008 in which Laine allegedly said anything she received from the Bryants were gifts. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.