A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury in Van Nuys returned a $176 million compensatory damages verdict on June 3, 2026, against Rebecca Grossman and Scott Erickson in a wrongful death action brought by the family of Mark and Jacob Iskander, two brothers, ages 11 and 8, killed in a Westlake Village crosswalk in 2020 [1][2]. The civil suit, brought by the boys' parents Nancy and Karim Iskander and their surviving brother Zachary, alleged wrongful death, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress [2]. The case proceeded to trial on all three theories against Grossman and Erickson, with plastic surgeon Peter Grossman also named as a defendant [2].
Plaintiff's counsel Brian Panish of Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP led the trial presentation for the Iskander family [2]. The jury found both Grossman and Erickson liable across all claims and further determined that both defendants had acted with malice, a finding that triggers a separate punitive damages phase [1][2]. The $176 million award is reported to be among the largest wrongful death verdicts in California history [1]. Rebecca Grossman was already serving a criminal murder sentence arising from the same underlying incident before this civil trial commenced [1].
Because the jury returned a malice finding, proceedings will advance to a punitive phase before Judge Huey P. Cotton, at which point the total award could increase substantially [2]. No punitive amount has been determined as of the verdict date, and the current $176 million figure reflects compensatory damages only [1][2]. Post-trial motions and potential appellate challenges to the compensatory award remain available to the defendants, though no filings have been reported as of this writing.