LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The judge overseeing litigation involving photos taken at the scene of the helicopter crash that took the lives of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others Friday scrubbed a scheduled July 26 trial date, saying he wanted to try the case in August instead.

U.S. District Judge John Walter indicated during a pretrial conference that restricted courthouse scheduling due to COVID concerns resulted in his decision to move the trial of Vanessa Bryant's lawsuit against the county of Los Angeles to next month on a date to be determined.

The judge said he still had not decided whether to try Vanessa Bryant's and Chris Chester's lawsuits together or separately. Both the NBA star's widow and Chester made similar arguments — both contend they suffered emotional distress when county workers allegedly snapped and shared graphic photos of the crash scene. Among the victims were Chester's wife, Sarah, and 13- year-old daughter, Payton.

Walter said he envisioned each case taking about seven days to try in the downtown Los Angeles federal courthouse.

Vanessa Bryant sued the county in September 2020, accusing sheriff and fire department workers of improperly taking and handling photos of human remains from the crash that killed the basketball legend and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in January 2020.

County attorneys say it will be proven to a jury that no photos taken by personnel at the scene of the Jan. 26, 2020, hillside crash in Calabasas were ever shared with the public.