The attorney is seeking a multimillion-dollar judgment against Grossman, a former Dodger

Rebecca Grossman and Scott Erickson were running down the street and acting like they were above the law when Grossman ran down two boys on the street, an attorney said Monday, adding that there will be a “day of judgment” for the pair.

In closing arguments in the multimillion-dollar wrongful-death lawsuit against the founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and former Dodgers pitcher, attorney Brian Panish asked jurors to hold them accountable for the deaths of the Iskander brothers.

Grossman was convicted in February 2024 of beating and killing Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8, on a Westlake Village street.

“It's not dangerous if you're speeding, and you're drinking, and you're driving impaired,” said Panish. “Who would do that except someone who thinks they can do whatever they want and there are no consequences?”

The civil case, which began in late April, went before a jury in Van Nuys on Monday afternoon, Grossman and Erickson's lawyers told the jury that there was no evidence that they were running or disabled and, although the death of the boys was a tragedy, the evidence did not justify the demand for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Panish reminded jurors that witnesses testified that, in the September 2020 incident, Grossman and her then-boyfriend Erickson were chasing each other in their Mercedes SUV on roads around a lake in Westlake Village. Erickson and Grossman had sipped margaritas at a local cantina before going to Grossman's house to watch the presidential debate.

“This case is about people and the safety of others,” said Panish. “When people make bad decisions, there are consequences and people suffer. Now is the day of accountability.” Panish represents the boys' parents, Nancy and Karim Iskander, and their surviving son, Zachary.

Erickson and Grossman were driving separately down Triunfo Canyon Road in Westlake Village when Mark and Jacob crossed the road with their mother and younger brother on Saddle Mountain Drive. Nancy Iskander testified that she started crossing the rowboats with her young son, Zachary, beside her on his scooter. Mark, on a skateboard, and Jacob, also in inline skates, followed a little more than an arm's length behind.

He said Erickson's black Mercedes reminded him and his boys badly.

Panish said Grossman then hit the two older boys at 73 mph, sending Mark 252 feet down the road and leaving a Mercedes grille pattern on his body. Jacob was thrown to the other side of the road, experts testified at the civil trial.

The attorney said that although Erickson testified that he was going 55 mph in a 45 mph zone, the expert estimated his speed at 80 mph. He played testimony about Grossman's speed to an Orange County detective who specializes in crash investigations. The detective said that if Grossman had been going 45 mph, the collision “wouldn't have happened” because the boys would have passed through the intersection.

Panish recalled the testimony of former baseball player Royce Clayton, who said Erickson told him immediately after the collision, “We're — we're flying down the road.”

Grossman, 62 years old and wife of renowned surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, was convicted of murder and is serving 15 years to life in prison for the death of these boys.

After the collision, the safety system of Grossman's Mercedes SUV disabled the vehicle, which came to rest a third of a mile down the road. A test three hours after the crash showed his blood alcohol content was 0.08% – the legal limit in California – according to evidence for both suspects.

But Grossman wasn't drinking alone, Panish reminded the judges; because Erickson fled the scene, his blood alcohol content was not tested. Panish played to the jury testimony from Grossman's daughter that, shortly after the incident, Erickson came to the house smelling of alcohol. He reminded them that Erickson admitted to drinking every day for the past 10 years.

On the day of the crash, he was driving a powerful AMG Mercedes SUV but later gave his other Mercedes to police for a test drive, Erickson told jurors during the trial. Panish called him a “liar” and a “liar.”

“He believes he's above the law,” Panish said, adding that the same applies to Grossman.

But in her closing argument, Grossman's attorney Esther Holm told jurors that Grossman was not under the influence of alcohol or valium; it was going about 52 mph, about seven mph over the speed limit; he wasn't running Erickson; and did not attempt to flee the scene.

“He wasn't running; this is all speculation,” Holm said, insisting that Grossman never saw the children before his car crashed because he was distracted by the boys' mother, Nancy Iskander, “getting out of the way” of Erickson's car.

Rebecca Grossman, left, at the Van Nuys Courthouse during her February 2024 hearing.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The lawyer said that trees and cars reduce the ability of drivers to see the pedestrian crossing sign that warns them about the crosswalk. He said the prosecution's expert conceded that point and that the details of Grossman's Mercedes were confusing and should be disregarded.

Holm reminded jurors that the city has problems with intersections and a complaint about it. “I believe the role of the city is as important as Ms. Grossman and Mr. Erickson. The city was aware of this problem.”

The defense did not object, as did Grossman's criminal defense attorney, who said Erickson hit the boys first. The World Series-winning pitcher did not testify at Grossman's 2024 criminal trial but spent several days on the witness stand during the trial.

Before the trial began, Erickson, through his lawyers, sought to blame Grossman for the entire incident, insisting that he was only going 45 mph over the speed limit. But law enforcement witnesses testified that data on Grossman's Mercedes showed he was going 70- to 80-plus mph before the collision, and they said it makes sense that Erickson was speeding, since his car was ahead of hers.

Jeff Braun, Erickson's attorney, made it clear in his closing argument that multiple witnesses testified that his client never hit either boy, and added that the evidence showed that Pit was not at fault or negligent in the death.

The lawyer admitted that, after the tragedy, his client “made some stupid decisions.” He admitted that Erickson lied to the police and the lawyers who represented him, apparently referring to the fact that Erickson used the same plate on two cars and lied about which one he was driving that night and presented the wrong one to the authorities.

Braun argued that the portrayal of his client drinking and running was not supported by the facts and that there was no evidence to contradict his client's testimony that he was going 55 mph. “It's a big step from jogging to racing,” the judges warned.

Karim Iskander, right, and wife Nancy, center, outside the Van Nuys courthouse in June 2024.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

And although Panish questioned his client repeatedly about drinking, “no expert testified that Mr. Erickson was impaired,” the lawyer said.

Braun said Panish wanted to portray his client as hiding in the bushes near the crash site, but in reality, those bushes were grapes and the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Erickson was easily spotted.

Braun sought to undermine Clayton's testimony that Erickson told him on the phone that he saw, in his rearview mirror, Grossman hitting the boys. He noted that an expert testified that Erickson's car was 236 feet in front of Grossman's at the time.

Braun argued to the jury Monday that “the appropriate amount for this loss is $10 million.”

Panish said Braun's figure would be $340 a day in terms of the boys' lives, and he was looking for about $430 million.

“He is running fast and killing them; he is chasing him,” said Panish. “Why are we here? Because they don't get it. They don't accept a single bit of responsibility.”