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Byron Scott Bankruptcy Filing Puts Civil Trial On Hold

Los Angeles Lakers image for coverage of Byron Scott civil trial delay
Summary

The civil sexual assault trial against former Lakers player and coach Byron Scott is on hold after his Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing triggered an automatic stay.

Byron Scott's civil trial is on hold before a jury can hear the case.

According to the Los Angeles Times report summarized in the Reddit post, Scott filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection last week in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. That filing triggered an automatic stay, which pauses state court proceedings unless the bankruptcy court grants relief.

Hayley Dylan has accused Scott in a civil lawsuit of sexually assaulting her in a janitor's closet at Campbell Hall School in Studio City in 1987. Dylan was 15 at the time, according to the complaint. Scott was 26, married, and a Lakers player. The case had previously been set for a jury trial Tuesday, then moved to Oct. 12 because of a court scheduling conflict. The bankruptcy filing now adds another delay.

Dylan's attorney, Kerry Garvis Wright, told The Times that her team plans to ask the bankruptcy court for relief from the stay so the sexual assault case can return to state court. If that motion is not granted, Dylan would have to pursue her claims against Scott in bankruptcy court instead.

"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 said, according to the report.

Wright was even sharper in a written statement. She described Scott's bankruptcy filing as a "pathetic and cowardly" attempt to deprive Dylan of her day in court, and said the filing came "literally on the eve of trial." The statement also said Dylan would be waiting to go to trial if Scott emerges from bankruptcy and the filing is not dismissed.

Scott's bankruptcy petition listed the type of debt as "alleged tort liability" rather than consumer or business debt. The filing also estimated his assets at $50,000 or less and his liabilities between $1 million and $10 million, according to the Times summary in the Reddit post.

The underlying allegation comes from an instructional basketball video shoot at Campbell Hall. Dylan's complaint says Scott and other Lakers were on campus for the production, and that Scott and Dylan walked away from faculty members and the video crew before the alleged assault happened in a janitor's closet.

Scott has denied the framing of the accusation. In May 2025, his attorney, Linda Bauermeister, told The Times that Scott believed Dylan was over 18 and said he had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. Bauermeister did not immediately respond to The Times' questions for the latest report.

Wright's statement argued that Scott cannot run from the fact that he admitted under penalty of perjury that a sexual encounter took place. The dispute, as framed in the civil case, is over age, consent, credibility and what a jury would hear if the matter returns to state court.

The filing also changes the forum, at least for now. A civil jury in Van Nuys had been the next step. Bankruptcy court is different. It can decide whether the state case may continue, whether the stay remains in place, or whether Dylan's claims have to be handled inside the bankruptcy process. That procedural turn is why Wright's motion for relief from stay is now central.

Chapter 7 is built around liquidation, not simply postponement. The filing does not decide the truth of Dylan's allegations, and it does not end the civil case by itself. It does, however, force Dylan's side to fight through bankruptcy rules before reaching the trial setting that had already been delayed once.

The civil case is still separate from any criminal finding. The current public record, as described in the report, is a lawsuit, an allegation, a defense position, a bankruptcy filing and a pending fight over whether the trial can proceed. That distinction is important because the bankruptcy move affects timing and venue, not liability.

The basketball context is simple but uncomfortable. Scott spent 11 of his 14 NBA seasons with the Lakers, won three championships as a player in Los Angeles and later coached the franchise from 2014 to 2016. None of that is what the court process will decide.

The immediate question is procedural. The bankruptcy court can keep the stay in place, lift it, or set conditions that shape where Dylan's claims go next. Until that happens, the civil trial is paused, and a case that was moving toward a jury has shifted into bankruptcy court first, with no new trial date.

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