2 families — including Vanessa Bryant — are suing LA County over helicopter crash site photos taken where Kobe Bryant died. The county thinks the other family would benefit too much from Bryant's celebrity.

• LA County is asking a federal judge not to consolidate Vanessa Bryant's trial with another family's.
• Christopher Chester has also sued the County for taking and sharing crash site photos.

Vanessa Bryant and another family both have upcoming trials against Los Angeles County for the improper taking and sharing of helicopter crash site photos from the deadly crash that killed Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, and 7 others.

Combining the trials, county attorneys believe, would allow the second family to "ride Bryant's coattails" and benefit from her celebrity, according to court documents obtained by Insider.

Months after Bryant sued the county, Christopher Chester filed a suit of his own after the January 2020 crash, in which his wife and young daughter died. Chester made similar allegations to Bryant in his lawsuit, but according to a new filing, the county thinks trying the two lawsuits in one trial would confuse the jury.

In September 2020, Bryant sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the county's fire department, the county as a whole, and eight officers in the wake of reports that first responders took and shared photos of the January 2020 crash site.

Her suit is seeking punitive damages from county defendants who allegedly took and shared crash site photos tied to her negligence, emotional distress, and invasion of privacy claims. Her federal claims relate to the constitutional right to the images of her deceased loved ones, and LA County agency practices that led to the alleged taking and dissemination of photos. Chester's lawsuit makes the same claims.

In a new filing, the County argued that there are fundamental differences between the two lawsuits. For one, Bryant has testified about seeing and being sent photos purporting to show her deceased family members and the toll it's taken on her.

"Given Kobe Bryant's worldwide recognition, Bryant's case is distinct. Chester should not be permitted to ride Bryant's coattails and benefit from critical evidence that only pertains to Bryant," County attorneys wrote in a motion against consolidating the trials.

The County added in their filing that Chester would unfairly benefit from Bryant's celebrity, and that Bryant's fame has strengthened her own claims.

"Unlike Bryant, Chester is not a celebrity with millions of social media followers," County attorneys wrote. "He is a private person who avoids the spotlight, and he was not worried about paparazzi in the hours following the death of his loved ones."

Another key difference, the county claimed, is the witness lists that both parties seek to introduce.

"Bryant also plans to call her celebrity friends to testify about her emotional distress. These witnesses include: Rob Pelinka, GM of the Lakers, and his wife; Kobe Bryant's sister; Catherine Gasol, the wife of former Laker Pau Gasol; and Monica Arnold, a Grammy award-winning singer, and wife of Shannon Brown, Kobe Bryant's former Lakers teammate," County attorneys wrote, noting that Chester plans to call his business partner to back up his claims in his case.

Vanessa Bryant and Chester's attorneys–who have supported a consolidation–did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.