According to legal documents acquired by The Blast, the 'Glee' star's estate and Josey Hollis Dorsey, the father of her baby boy, reached an agreement. As you may recall, the 4-year-old child was in a rented pontoon boat on Lake Piru with his mother when she drowned. We broke the story, Naya’s untimely death sparked a lawsuit by the family against Ventura County, California on behalf of her son. Ryan Dorsey, the 4-year-father, old's is representing him, while the late actress' business manager is representing the estate..
In their response, Ventura County officials claimed the death wasn’t their fault, considering the actress decided on her own not to wear a life jacket. At the time, they claimed the actress was “offered a life vest” but she “declined to wear” it.
“Ms. Rivera was offered a life vest by Parks Management Company’s boat rental agent, which Ms. Rivera declined to wear, after which the rental agent ‘put the vest in the rental boat,” a legal response read.
“While Naya and Josey were swimming, the boat started to be carried away — likely by the current and wind, which gusted up to 21 miles per hour that afternoon,” Amjad M. Khan stated an attorney for the family. The lawyer and firm Brown Neri Smith & Khan handled the case for the family.
He continued, “Josey, who was closer, managed to get back on the boat by his own volition and braced himself on the boat, which was rocking back and forth forcefully in the current and wind. Josey knew Naya was still in the water and heard her cry, ‘Help! Help!’ in her struggle to get back to the boat and avoid drowning. Josey searched in vain for a rope to help his mother get back on the boat. Josey then looked back at the water for his mother and saw that Naya had disappeared. Josey yelled for help and cried alone in the boat until he was found more than an hour later by a PMC boat leasing agent.”
The lawsuit noted the lake has a “deadly history” and reportedly is the site of at least 26 other deaths. Since the recreational facilities opened, the accidents have ranged from children to fit adults and elders, some wearing life jackets and others not.
Naya’s body was discovered 5 days after the incident, and her death has officially been ruled an “accident.” Obviously, the suit included damages for the young boy, with the family saying he has “suffered substantial economic and non-economic damages as a result of Naya’s death, including financial support that Naya would have contributed to Josey, her only child.” Also, they were suing for funeral and burial expenses.
At this point, the amount being paid by any party in the case is unknown, and details of the settlement are confidential. We are guessing it’s a substantial settlement considering a compromise was agreed upon so early in this case.
“feel free to disagree in the comments and let me know what you think!”
📎 COMMENTS 👀 ☝️👆👈👉✍️🤳
DROP YOUR OPINIONS
0 Comments