Naya Rivera's family settles wrongful death lawsuit
Naya Rivera's family has reached a settlement in her wrongful-death lawsuit. Credit: Getty Images / David Livingston
The family of the late Naya Rivera has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by her ex-husband on behalf of their son over the 2020 drowning death of the "Glee" star in a California lake.
"[A]ll parties have entered into a global settlement, which is subject to approval by the Ventura Superior Court on March 16," said Amjad Khan, the attorney representing Rivera's son Josey Hollis Dorsey, now 6, and Rivera's estate, in a statement to Newsday.
"Through this settlement, Josey will receive just compensation for having to endure the drowning of his beloved mother at Lake Piru," the statement continued. "Though the tragic loss of Josey's mother can never truly be overcome, we are very pleased that the monetary settlement will significantly assist Josey with his life beyond this tragedy."
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. A representative for Ventura County, which was sued along with the state's United Water Conservation District and its contractor, Parks Management Company, did not respond to a Newsday request for comment.
Rivera, 33, was reported missing on July 8 after then 4-year-old Josey, her son with actor ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, was found alone asleep in a boat on Lake Piru, a Southern California recreation destination. He told authorities Rivera had gone swimming and did not return. Search operations followed, and Rivera's body was found five days later.
The lawsuit, filed that Nov. 17, alleged that, "While Naya and Josey were swimming, the boat started to be carried away — likely by the current and wind." Josey, it said, "managed to get back on the boat by his own volition and braced himself on the boat, which was rocking back and forth forcefully …. Josey knew Naya was still in the water, and heard her cry, 'Help! Help!' in her struggle to get back to the boat and avoid drowning. Josey searched in vain for rope to help his mother get back on the boat … [but] saw that Naya had disappeared." The child "was found more than an hour later by a PMC boat leasing agent."
The suit alleged that more than two dozen people have drowned in Lake Piru, and Rivera was not warned of potential dangers when renting the boat. While Rivera declined to wear a life vest offered by the rental agent, according to Ventura County's filing in response, the boat was not equipped with state-mandated lifesaving equipment, the lawsuit alleged.
Dorsey, 38, has not commented publicly on the settlement.
