Disgraced and imprisoned Los Angeles socialite Rebecca Grossman doesn’t have any earnings with which to pay punitive damages for killing two boys in a hit-and-run collision, her lawyer told jurors after they awarded the victims’ family $176 million in the case.
Defense lawyer Esther Holm said Thursday that Grossman, who’s serving a 15 years-to-life sentence for murder and vehicular manslaughter, makes no money by working as a charity volunteer, according to the Daily Mail.
“The evidence will show that she had not earned income for many years, since this accident and prior to this accident,” Holm said, according to LA TV station KNBC.
Holm also reportedly told jurors in Van Nuys, California, that the question of punitive damages shouldn’t hinge on the family wealth shared by Grossman, who’s married to a prominent LA plastic surgeon.
In civil cases, punitive damages can be awarded to penalize a defendant’s wrongdoing and deter others, in addition to compensatory damages to cover losses suffered by the plaintiff.
On Wednesday, the jury ruled against Grossman and her then-boyfriend, former MLB pitcher Scott Erickson, and awarded $176 million in compensatory damages in the Sept. 29, 2020, deaths of eight-year-old Jacob Iskander and older brother Mark Iskander, 12.
The boys were crossing a road in suburban Westlake Village with their parents and younger siblings when they were run down by Grossman as she and Erickson were allegedly racing each other in Mercedes-Benz SUVs after drinking margaritas in a nearby restaurant.
The jury found that Grossman, 62, and Erickson, 58, acted with malice, opening the door for the Islander family to seek punitive damages in a second stage of the trial’s penalty phase, according to Courthouse News.
Grossman is married to Dr. Peter Grossman, an expert in cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery who specializes in treating burn patients and is a former president of the Los Angeles Society of Plastic Surgeons.
During opening statements over punitive damages, lawyers for the Iskander family said evidence would show that Rebecca and Peter Grossman have tried to conceal the total amount of their assets, KBNC said
They reportedly also showed a video clip in which Peter Grossman said during a deposition that he didn’t know how much money his wife made in 2021 or any other year.
Peter Grossman is expected to testify Friday, KNBC said.
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