Three-time Los Angeles Lakers NBA champion Byron Scott reportedly filed for bankruptcy last week, putting his ongoing civil sexual assault trial on hold.
According to the LA Times’ Chuck Schilken, Scott’s decision to file for Chapter 7 has triggered an automatic stay in the lawsuit that alleges he sexually assaulted Hayley Dylan at Campbell Hall School in the summer of 1987. Per the lawsuit, Hayley was a 15-year-old student while Scott was 26 and married at the time of the alleged assault.
The case was reportedly slated to go to a jury trial on Tuesday, Sept. 8, but was pushed back to Oct. 12 due to a court scheduling conflict. However, with Scott filing for bankruptcy, there’s now no set date for the trial to commence.
“Now it seems the trial might be delayed further, if it even happens at all,” Schilken wrote on Wednesday while offering an update in the Byron Scott sexual assault case.
The report added that Scott’s bankruptcy filing halts the sexual assault case until the bankruptcy court issues a new order, according to Ori Blumenfeld, a bankruptcy partner at Offit Kurman, PC.
Byron Scott Sexual Assault Update
Hayley Dylan’s attorney, Kerry Garvis Wright, blasted Scott’s bankruptcy filing as a “pathetic and cowardly” attempt to dodge his civil suit trial. She told LA Times that her team plans to file a motion with the bankruptcy court for relief from the stay.
“We’re planning on exploring all of our options to get relief from stay and to have this case tried before a jury as soon as possible so that Byron Scott can face the consequences of his actions,” Wright told the LA Times.
Dylan’s attorney pointed out how suspicious it was that Scott declared bankruptcy merely days before his sexual assault trial restarted.
“Literally on the eve of trial, he filed for bankruptcy, thereby pausing the lawsuit,” Wright wrote in a statement released to the Times. “Yet nothing has changed in the four years since Hayley Dylan bravely came forward and publicly disclosed that Scott had sexually assaulted her in a janitor’s closet of her K-12 school.”
She added: “Scott should know that when he emerges from his bankruptcy [if it is not summarily dismissed for being a sham filing], Hayley will be waiting for him, ready to go to trial and hold him accountable.”
Byron Scott: A Lakers Legend
Scott was a key member of the “Showtime Lakers” in the 1980s, capturing three championships in 1985, 1987 and 1988.
Following his playing days, he found immediate success on the sidelines, taking the New Jersey Nets to two NBA Finals in his first three years. He peaked with a 2008 Coach of the Year award for guiding the Chris Paul-led New Orleans Hornets to a 56-win season, but his trajectory plummeted after the franchise fired him. Over his final five seasons coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers (2010–2013) and Los Angeles Lakers (2014–2016), his teams failed to reach the postseason.
Effectively retired from NBA coaching, Scott closed his career with a sub-.500 regular-season record of 454-647 (.412), offset slightly by a stronger playoff resume where he won 33 of his 57 games.
3-Time Lakers NBA Champion Files For Bankruptcy Amid Sexual Assault Trial