Nigel Lythgoe dismissed as defendant in ‘All American Girl’ trial

A California judge has named Nigel Lythgoe as defendant in the lawsuit for sexual assault of two All American Girls Participant.

At a hearing Friday afternoon, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shirley K. Watkins ruled that the two Jane Doe plaintiffs, who filed a joint lawsuit in January, are not entitled to a reinstatement of their claims under the law cited in their suit. The two plaintiffs – contestants on the reality game show produced by Lythgoe – alleged that Lythgoe forcibly groped and kissed them in 2003.

The women filed their lawsuit under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, a California law that gives plaintiffs the ability to file otherwise time-barred sexual abuse claims against companies that helped cover up the abuse. The judge said the subsection of the law cited by the Doe plaintiffs to revive their claims was “not applicable” to Lythgoe because it applies only to companies. She issued her ruling “without leave to amend,” meaning the Does are barred from ever re-added Lythgoe to the lawsuit, which now proceeds with an unidentified “Roe” production company as the sole defendant.

“Today was a good day. We have always said that these claims are without merit and now the court has agreed. I hope and expect that this will be the first of many similar victories as I continue to fight to clear my name,” Lythgoe said in a statement to Rolling Stone after the verdict.

During the hearing, an attorney for the Does attempted to get the judge to leave open the possibility for a future amendment regarding Lythgoe, but failed. The attorney, Sahar Malek, pointed out that a bill called Assembly Bill 2587 is currently pending in the California state legislature. If passed, it would specifically amend the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act to clarify that individuals can also file lawsuits against individuals if a cover-up is alleged.

“Whether a law is pending or not, or whether it will be passed or not, are purely hypothetical situations that would require pure speculation from this court,” Lythgoe’s lawyer Amitabh Banerji argued on Friday. “I do not think it is appropriate for the court to rule on pending laws that may not even be passed.”

The judge agreed. “I’m not going to make a decision based on hypotheticals that might happen in the future,” the judge said. “There is no reason to approve a change at this time.” The judge said that if the proposed law passes and is made retroactive, Republicans “can then decide what to do.”

Malek said one option would be to file a separate lawsuit under the new law and then consolidate it with the current lawsuit against the company – but that would place a greater burden on “the court’s resources.” The judge, however, remained adamant.

Already in January, Paula Abdul Lythgoe and the companies behind it sued American Idol And So you think you can dance with claims that the 74-year-old producer sexually harassed and assaulted her on multiple occasions while she hosted or otherwise worked on the reality competition shows. She claimed Lythgoe trapped her in an elevator, pushed her against the wall, grabbed her genitals and breasts, and “shoved his tongue down her throat.”

Lythgoe vehemently denied the allegations. One of his lawyers called them “completely fabricated” in documents filed shortly before Abdul’s attorney’s hearing in April. She tentatively announced a settlement with American Idol And So you think you can dance.

The two Jane Does from All American Girls filed their lawsuit next. A third Jane Doe filed suit in February, alleging that Lythgoe groped, kissed, and digitally penetrated her in his chauffeur-driven car in 2016. A fourth Jane Doe filed suit in March, alleging that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her in his home in 2018.

The three remaining lawsuits against Lythgoe all invoke retrial protections provided by California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-up Accountability Act, but they involve allegations made on or after Jan. 1, 2009, and are therefore not dependent on the section of the law that Judge Watkins ruled on Friday. That subsection was crucial to the show contestants’ lawsuit because it revives any claim, no matter how old, as long as a corporate defendant is accused of engaging in a cover-up.