Kobe's Lawyers ID 125 Possible Witnesses
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kobe Bryant's (search) attorneys have identified about 125 potential witnesses to testify in the civil lawsuit filed against him by the woman who accused him of sexual assault, attorneys told a judge Wednesday.
Attorneys for Bryant and the 20-year-old woman met in Denver federal court for the first time to map out a preliminary schedule for the case. They agreed on a tentative May deadline to complete the required exchange of evidence.
No trial date is being contemplated for now, L. Lin Wood (search), an Atlanta attorney representing the woman, said after the brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Citing the high number of potential witnesses, Wood asked the judge for permission to depose up to 35 witnesses, 10 more than usually allowed. Matsch deferred a decision.
Wood told Matsch that he hopes to depose Bryant in early December.
Neither the accuser nor the 26-year-old Los Angeles Lakers (search) star were in the courtroom.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prosecutors dropped the felony sexual assault charge against Bryant on Sept. 1 after the woman decided to stop participating in the case.
That move came about three weeks after she filed the civil lawsuit seeking unspecified financial damages for pain, ridicule and scorn she says she has suffered since her encounter with Bryant in a Vail-area resort in June 2003.
Matsch encouraged the sides to meet and try to whittle the number of expert witnesses who could testify, and urged Wood to come up with a preliminary estimate of potential damages within a month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wood and John Clune, the woman's Colorado attorney, declined to comment on whether a settlement has been discussed.
Bryant's attorneys declined comment.
Wood said earlier this week he expected Bryant's attorneys to bring up the fact that the accuser is considering filing another civil lawsuit against Bryant in Orange County, Calif., where Bryant lives. No decision has been made, and the topic was not discussed Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}California does not limit damages in civil lawsuits. Colorado law, which will govern the lawsuit in Denver federal court, makes it difficult for a plaintiff to collect more than $733,000.
"The limits are absolutely unreasonable," Wood said.
If a second lawsuit is filed in California, both cases could move forward simultaneously, Wood has said.