The heartbroken parents of two young brothers killed in a hit-and-run by convicted killer Rebecca Grossman are seeking $439 million in damages as jurors weigh whether the disgraced socialite and her former baseball star lover should be held responsible for their deaths.
A jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday began its second day of deliberations in the wrongful death trial in which Grossman, 64, and her ex-lover, one-time MLB star Scott Erickson, 58, stand accused of racing each other in their Mercedes SUVs just before she fatally slammed into Mark, 11, and eight-year-old Jacob Iskander in September 2020.
Grossman, 64, is already serving 15 years to life in prison after being convicted in a 2024 criminal trial of murdering the brothers with her speeding vehicle. Now, in a separate civil trial entering its eighth week, jurors must decide how much compensation the devastated family should receive – and whether the former Minnesota Twins pitcher shares responsibility for the fatal crash.
Brian Panish, the attorney for grieving parents Nancy and Karim Iskander, justified their almost half-billion-dollar claim, telling the jury of eight women and four men: 'These people didn't invest in stocks. They may have some – but they invested in their children.'
The veteran lawyer broke down the $439 million total, explaining that the Iskanders should be awarded $57 million in compensatory damages for the loss of Mark and Jacob's 'love and companionship' since the crash and another $222 million for the loss of that companionship in the future. The attorney also asked jurors to award Nancy Iskander $25 million for her 'severe emotional distress' she has endured since witnessing her sons' deaths and an additional $75 million for future suffering.
Their surviving son Zachary – who was just five years old when he narrowly escaped being struck himself – should be awarded $20 million for past and $40 million for future serious emotional distress, Panish argued.
Defence Arguments and Jury Deliberations
Grossman's attorney Esther Holm responded, saying 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.
In the eighth week of the trial, jurors at the court in Van Nuys were huddling behind closed doors Wednesday with an eight-page, 24-question 'special verdict form,' trying to decide if the Iskanders deserve the compensatory damages Panish is asking for or less. They are also being asked if Erickson was negligent and if so, was his negligence a 'substantial factor' in the deaths of the boys. Judge Huey Cotton, presiding in the case, has already made a directed verdict that Grossman was negligent.
The jury must also determine whether Grossman and Erickson 'acted in concert' leading up to the deadly crash. Questions 17 and 18 on the special verdict form ask jurors if Grossman and Erickson respectively acted 'with malice or oppression.' If the answer is 'yes' to one or both, that leads to the second verdict phase of the trial which deals with separate punitive damages that are awarded for 'despicable' behavior leading to the deaths of the Iskander brothers. Those punitive damages will be decided by the jury at a later hearing after the panel members have heard evidence and testimony about the financial status of Grossman and/or Erickson.
Background of the Incident
Grossman's speeding white Mercedes SUV collided with both children, fatally injuring them, at a pedestrian crossing in Westlake Village, near Los Angeles, on September 29, 2020, after she and Erickson both drank margaritas at a local bar. She was convicted on 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, World Series-winning pitcher 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 eyewitness accounts saying he was going 80-100 mph just before the collision. 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 son Zachary, 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 six-week criminal trial. 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 an 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.
