A jury has determined that Rebecca Grossman, convicted of killing two children in a hit-and-run, along with her former partner, ex-baseball star Scott Erickson, should pay $176 million to the devastated family of the victims. The tragic incident involved the deaths of two young brothers at the hands of the affluent socialite.
Grossman, 64, and Erickson, who is 58 and a former World Series champion, were found to have acted with “malice or oppression” leading up to the crash. This means they might also be liable for additional punitive damages, on top of the $176 million in compensatory damages.
The verdict was delivered Wednesday during the eighth week of a civil wrongful death trial. The case accused Grossman and Erickson of drinking together and then racing their cars, leading to Grossman fatally hitting Mark, aged 11, and Jacob Iskander, aged eight.
The jury, consisting of eight women and four men, deliberated for two days before awarding the compensatory damages. The recipients are the boys’ parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, along with their surviving son Zachary, who was five at the time and narrowly avoided being injured in the crash.
The $176 million award includes $14 million for the parents to compensate for the loss of Mark and Jacob’s love and companionship since the crash, plus $93 million for the anticipated loss of their boys’ companionship in the future.
Nancy Iskander was allocated $10 million for the severe emotional distress she has suffered since the accident and an additional $25 million for future emotional distress.
And the jury said brother Zachary should receive $6 million for past and $28 million for future serious emotional distress.
In response to the Iskanders’ original claim for a total of $439 million in compensatory damages, Grossman’s attorney Esther Holm said that her imprisoned client would be willing to pay ‘reasonable damages’ without specifying an amount.
Erickson’s lawyer, Jeff Braun, offered a payout of $10 million.
The second day of deliberations is underway in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Nancy and Karim Iskander over the deaths of sons Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8, who were struck and killed while crossing a street in Westlake Village in September 2020
In the civil case against convicted killer Rebecca Grossman jurors must decide how much compensation the devastated family of the two young boys should receive – and whether the former Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Erickson shares responsibility for the fatal crash
Jurors determined that Erickson was ‘negligent’ and that his negligence was a ’substantial factor’ in the deaths of the boys (Judge Huey Cotton, presiding in the case, already ruled in a directed verdict that Grossman was negligent).
And the jury also decided that Grossman and Erickson ‘acted in concert’ leading up to the deadly crash.
On the eight-page, 24- question ‘special verdict form’ jurors had to ponder, they answered ‘yes’ to questions 17 and 18 which asked if Grossman acted ‘with malice or oppression’ and Erickson acted with fraud, as well as malice or oppression.
That means both defendants now face paying separate punitive damages that are awarded as punishment for their ‘despicable’ behavior that led to the deaths of the Iskander brothers.
Those punitive damages will be decided by the jury in a second verdict phase later, after panel members have heard evidence and testimony about the financial status of Grossman and Erickson.
Jurors declared that the Westlake Village crosswalk where the accident happened ‘was not in a dangerous condition,’ rejecting Grossman’s contention that the Westlake Village crosswalk was partly to blame.
Karim and Nancy Iskander are seeking nearly half a billion dollars in damages for the loss of their two boys
Grossman and Erickson were photographed attending a fundraising event in 2020 shortly before the accident. Erickson was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and his criminal case was resolved in February 2022
Grossman’s Mercedes is pictured after the smash. She kept on driving, despite the obvious damage caused to the car after she struck the boys
After Wednesday’s verdict, the Iskanders’ attorney, Brian Panish, told Daily Mail, ‘We’re not done yet – there’s more work to be done.’
Grossman’s speeding white Mercedes SUV collided with both children, fatally injuring them, at a pedestrian crossing in Westlake Village, near Los Angeles, in September 2020, after she and Erickson both drank margaritas at a local bar.
Grossman is currently serving 15 years to life in prison after jurors at her February 2024 criminal trial convicted her of two counts each of second degree murder and vehicular manslaughter, plus one of hit-and-run.
Erickson confessed on the witness stand during the civil trial that he lied to police about how much alcohol he had to drink before the deadly crash and admitted that he was convicted of DUI in Nevada 12 years ago.
He also admitted that when police asked him to turn in the vehicle he was driving at the time of the crash, he produced the wrong car for inspection (at the time he owned two black Mercedes SUVs, illegally bearing the same license plate number).
But the 6ft 4in ex-MLB pitcher vehemently denied any responsibility for the horrific pile-up. He claimed he was not racing Grossman, insisted that he was not under the influence of alcohol and disputed eye-witness accounts saying he was going 80-100 mph just before the crash
He testified that he saw the two boys at the crosswalk as he drove through without hitting them and he didn’t see their mother Nancy grab Zachary, then five, and leap for their lives to avoid being hit by his black Mercedes SUV as he sped through the intersection ahead of Grossman.
Grossman’s criminal case attorneys tried to blame the deadly crash on Erickson – who didn’t show up at his ex girlfriend’s 6-week criminal trial.
But he was only charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and that was dismissed after he made a public service announcement on the importance of safe driving.
Despite the lack of criminal charges against Erickson, the Iskanders named him as a defendant in their civil action, saying he bore equal responsibility with Grossman for the fatal crash.
Grossman’s lawyers in the civil trial called the crash a ‘tragic, horrible accident,’ said she didn’t see the boys on the crosswalk, that ‘there were other factors involved’ – like poor signage and lighting at the intersection – and that she wasn’t ‘impaired’ with alcohol and drugs as the Iskanders claimed.
Erickson was having a love affair with Rebecca when she was separated from her plastic surgeon husband Dr. Peter Grossman, who is also a defendant in the lawsuit as the owner of the Mercedes she was driving at the time of the crash.
