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Jury Orders $22.2 Million in Punitive Damages, Raising Civil Award in Westlake Village Crash to Nearly $198 Million

The punitive verdict follows a $176 million compensatory award and starts a process of asset probes and appeals that will determine how much the Iskander family can actually collect.

FILE - Nancy Iskander, left, holding the hand of her husband, Karim, leaves Van Nuys Courthouse June 10, 2024, in Van Nuys, Calif., after attending the sentencing hearing in the murder trial of Rebecca Grossman, who is charged in the deaths of their two sons, Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
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Collage of an older man behind glass, a woman in glasses, and two young boys smiling.
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Overview

  • A Van Nuys civil jury on Wednesday added roughly $21 million in punitive damages against Rebecca Grossman and about $1.17 million against Scott Erickson, bringing total civil awards to nearly $198 million.
  • The damages follow Grossman’s 2024 criminal conviction for the 2020 deaths of 11-year-old Mark and 8-year-old Jacob Iskander, for which she is serving a 15-years-to-life sentence and has a pending appeal.
  • Jurors found both defendants negligent, concluded they acted with malice, and determined they “acted in concert,” after hearing evidence about drinking before driving, expert speed estimates of roughly 70–80 mph, and a post-crash blood-alcohol test that later registered 0.08.
  • The punitive phase centered on plaintiffs’ claims that the Grossmans sought to shift or hide assets, with testimony about property transfers, loans and prison calls prompting the family’s lawyers to press for higher penalties and to probe recoverable funds.
  • Next steps include the court entering final judgments, likely appeals by the defendants, and detailed asset discovery and collection efforts that will decide how much of the near-$198 million award the Iskander family can obtain.