Vanessa Bryant, the widow of the late Kobe Bryant, has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit her mother, Sofia Laine, brought forth alleging that her son-in-law had made a verbal promise to take care of her financially for the rest of her life. The claim had been disputed several times by the widow.
TMZ reports that new court documents submitted by Bryant’s attorney on Monday (March 29) state that in a legal battle between Laine and her ex-husband in 2004 and 2008 over spousal support, Laine’s ex-husband claimed he should not have to pay Laine because she was being supported by Kobe and Vanessa. Laine had disputed that claim and at the time, stated that her daughter and son-in-law had “no obligation to support her, and whatever they gave her was simply out of the goodness of their hearts.”
The ex-husband additionally alleged that because the Bryants had purchased a million dollar home for her, she wasn’t in need of financial support. The claim was also rebuffed by Laine who said that “the stories were absolutely false” and “I would never permit Vanessa to do such a thing. I have not and do not (nor should I be required to) rely on Vanessa for my support.”
The latest documents directly dispute the allegations that Laine put forth in September 2020, when Laine gave an interview to the Univision’s El Gordo y La Flaca alleging that her daughter was forcefully evicting her. Laine’s lawsuit also alleges that she was denied “meal breaks, rest periods” and that the Bryants didn’t pay her minimum wage for babysitting services.
The widow directly denied those claims saying that “[Sofia] was never an ’employee’…[she] is a grandmother who, at times, helped her daughter and son-in-law by spending time with her grandchildren.”
The case is still pending.