Disgraced World Series-winning pitcher Scott Erickson is begging a judge to toss the 'excessive' $176 million judgment a jury ordered him and his ex-lover to pay over the deaths of two young brothers killed in a boozy hit and run crash.
asserted
jury → win → crash
The 58-year-old ex-ball player and his former flame, socialite Rebecca Grossman, 63, were ordered to pay the hefty damages to Mark and Jacob Iskander's family after the boys were mowed down in Los Angeles in 2020.
asserted
boys → order → 2020
Now, in new court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Erickson has moaned that the multi-million dollar award the jury stuck him with is ‘excessive.’
asserted
jury → obtain → him
And Erickson is threatening to push for a new civil trial if the parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, don't agree to accept a much lower amount than his $70 million-plus share of the wrongful death damages owed.
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parents → threaten → damages
The boys were tragically killed when Grossman’s speeding white Mercedes SUV slammed into Mark, 11, and Jacob, eight, while they were at a pedestrian crossing in Westlake Village in September 2020.
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they → kill → September
Erickson and Grossman had been drinking margaritas at a local bar together before racing each other in their cars.
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Erickson → drink → cars
Ultimately, Grossman - who was said to have been separated from her acclaimed plastic surgeon husband, Dr Peter Grossman, at the time - was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
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who → say → prison
The former pro athlete, who was racing his black Mercedes just ahead of Grossman at the time of the crash, was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving but that was dismissed after he made a public service announcement on the importance of safe driving.
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he → race → driving
Scott Erickson, 58, and his ex-lover Rebecca Grossman, 63, were ordered to pay the damages to Mark and Jacob Iskander's family after the boys were killed in Los Angeles in 2020.
asserted
boys → order → 2020
He is pictured arriving at court during Grossman's 2024 trial
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He → picture → trial
Grossman's speeding white Mercedes SUV slammed into brothers - Jacob, eight, and Mark Iskander, 11 - at a pedestrian crossing in Los Angeles as she and her World Series winner lover were racing each other
Now, Erikson - whose charges tied to the crash were dismissed early on - is threatening to push for a new civil trial if the parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, don't agree to accept a much lower amount than his $70 million-plus share of the wrongful death damages he owes
Despite the lack of criminal charges against the 6ft 4in former MLB star, the Iskanders still named him as a defendant in their civil wrongful death lawsuit, claiming he bore equal responsibility with Grossman for the fatal crash.
The civil jury agreed after hearing Erickson confess on the witness stand that he lied to police about how much alcohol he had to drink before the deadly crash and admitting that he was convicted of DUI in Nevada 12 years ago.
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he → speed → Nevada
Grossman was convicted of mowing down the boys - Jacob, eight, and Mark Iskander, 11 - at a pedestrian crossing in Westlake Village, near Los Angeles, in September 2020
The jury - finding that Grossman and Erickson had ‘acted in concert’ - subsequently ordered $176 million in compensatory damages jointly against them, plus an additional $20 million and $1.17 million respectively in punitive damages.
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Grossman → convict → damages
That $176 million verdict made each liable for half, or $88 million, in compensatory damages.
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each → make → damages
But it later emerged that Grossman had already struck a secret deal with the Iskanders and their surviving son Zachary - who narrowly escaped death or injury in the same fatal pileup - to pay a total of $14 million instead.
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who → emerge → million
Despite the judge allowing him to reduce that sum by $14 million, he remains on the hook for $74 million, plus the $1.17 million he owes in punitive damages.
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he → allow → damages
Erickson, who played 15 seasons and won the World Series with the Minnesota Twins in 1991, sent his lawyers back to court this week to file two motions asking the judge to reverse the jury’s verdict against him and/or grant him a new trial.
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who → play → trial
He cited a dozen grounds for Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Huey Cotton to set aside - or overturn - the verdict against him at trial - including ‘newly discovered evidence’, ‘jury misconduct,’ ‘errors and irregularities’ and ‘insufficient evidence.’
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Cotton → cite → evidence
The brothers were fatally struck as Erickson and Grossman were street racing after drinking margaritas at a bar together
Grossman, who is on a 15-year sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona, quietly served her loyal husband, Dr Peter Grossman, with divorce papers in August
In his first motion, Erickson's attorneys pleaded with the judge to ‘set aside the judgement’ against him and ‘enter a new judgement in favor of Scott Erickson, notwithstanding the verdicts rendered by the jury.
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attorneys → strike → jury
‘This motion is made on the ground that the evidence received at trial is insufficient as a matter of law to support the jury’s verdicts and that a motion for a directed verdict in favor of Scott Erickson should have been granted during trial
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motion → make → trial
,' the filing states.
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filing → state → ?
In his second motion, Erickson’s lawyers called on Judge Cotton to ‘issue a conditional order granting a new trial - unless the Iskanders consent to a reduction of the damages to an amount that the court, in its independent judgment, determines from the evidence to be fair and reasonable.’
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court → call → evidence
The judge scheduled a hearing November 12 to hear both motions.
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judge → schedule → motions
His latest court battle comes just weeks after Grossman opted to divorce her cuckolded husband as she languishes behind bars.
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she → come → bars
The once well-heeled socialite quietly served Dr Grossman, one of the nation's top burns doctors, with the divorce papers in August, citing 'irreconcilable differences.'
Dr Grossman, who stoically stood by her side during the trial and was forced to listen as jurors heard how Grossman was with her new flame the day she wiped out the children, is not contesting the divorce.
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she → serve → divorce
Erickson played 15 seasons in the MLB and won the World Series with the Minnesota Twins in 1991
In the wake of the divorce news, Nancy Iskander, the still-grieving mother of the slain boys, fired off a scathing social media post claiming the proceedings were just a ploy to cheat her and her husband, Karim, out of the millions the jury awarded them.
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jury → play → them
Knew she was cheating.
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she → know → ?
Knew she kept texting the lover after she killed them.
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she → know → them
Then the civil verdict millions for our family,' Iskander wrote in the lengthy post.
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Iskander → write → post
'That's when he stopped playing loyal.
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he → stop → ?
She signed everything over to him.
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She → sign → him
Divorce timed so we couldn't collect.
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we → time → ?
Five years of "stand by your wife" was never love.
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years → stand → wife
It was protecting the money until the checks came due.'
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checks → protect → money
It emerged around the time of Grossman's trial that she and her husband were rumored to have agreed to an open marriage at some point before the crash.
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she → emerge → crash
The couple later settled on an informal split, sources previously told the Daily Mail.
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sources → settle → Mail
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