Naya Rivera’s ex Ryan Dorsey has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, on behalf of their 5-year-old son Josey.
The Glee actress tragically drowned on July 8, while swimming with Josey at Lake Piru in Southern California.
Over an hour after she drowned, Josey was found alone on a pontoon boat they had rented – and Naya’s body wasn’t found until 5 days later.
According to court documents obtained by E! News, Josey and her estate have since filed a lawsuit against the County of Ventura, United Water Conservation District and Parks and Recreation Management.
The suit claims the boat rented by Naya was “not equipped with a safely accessible ladder, adequate rope, an anchor, a radio, or any security mechanisms to prevent swimmers from being separated from their boats”.
It’s also alleged the boat did not have any flotation devices, and the lawsuit claims there were no warning signs at Lake Piru – alerting people to strong currents, changing water depths and low visibility.
The lawsuit states: “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. Josey then looked back at the water for his mother, and saw that Naya had disappeared.”
“Josey yelled for help and cried alone in the boat until he was found more than an hour later by a PMC boat leasing agent.”
The lawsuit also claims Josey has suffered “serious emotional distress” as a result of being at the scene where his mother drowned.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial – and they’re seeking “actual, compensatory, consequential and punitive damages in amounts to be fixed at trial.”
