The parties in a civil lawsuit brought by the family of two boys killed by convicted murderer Rebecca Grossman failed to resolve the case during a settlement conference, so it remains on track for trial this spring.
Jurors in a previous Van Nuys Superior Court trial found Grossman guilty of two counts each of second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of hit-and-run driving in the Sept. 29, 2020, deaths of Mark and Jacob Iskander, aged 11 and 8.
The plaintiffs in the civil suit are the boys’ parents, Karim and Nancy Iskander, and the boys’ brother Zachary.
On Thursday, a mandatory settlement was held with Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Wendy L. Wilcox. Although no pretrial resolution of the case was reached, Wilcox ordered both sides to continue settlement discussions “in good faith” and she invited them to return to her courtroom if they want to for another settlement conference.
A jury trial of the case is scheduled for April 13 before Judge Huey P. Cotton.
The lawsuit’s co-defendants are Grossman’s husband — Peter Grossman — and Scott Erickson, her former boyfriend. Rebecca Grossman and Erickson had cocktails and the two later raced each other in their vehicles along Triunfo Canyon Road until they reached a crosswalk and the children were struck, according to the suit filed in January 2021.
Grossman, 62, of Hidden Hills, tried to flee the scene and likely would have succeeded had her vehicle not automatically shut down due to it sensing the massive impact that had just occurred, the Iskander attorneys state in their court papers.
The philanthropist then lied to law enforcement about her speed and how much she had to drink, and contended she did not know why her airbag suddenly deployed despite her vehicle sustaining massive front-end damage, the Iskander attorneys further state.