Federal judge rejects USA Gymnastics bid to transfer Aly Raisman lawsuit to Orange County

A U.S. District Court judge has rejected a motion by USA Gymnastics and its former board chairman Paul Parilla to move Olympic champion Aly Raisman’s lawsuit against USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic Committee and former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar to a federal court in Orange County.

Judge Beth Labson Freeman of U.S. District Court’s Northern District rejected on Tuesday a motion by USA Gymnastics and Parilla, an Orange County attorney, to transfer the case to U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. The trial is expected to open in February 2020 in the Northern District in San Jose.

Raisman is suing Nassar, USA Gymnastics, former USA Gymnastics chief executive Steve Penny, Parilla and several other former top USAG officials, the USOC and Michigan State alleging that the organizations did know or should have known Nassar is a pedophile. The suit also alleges USA Gymnastics and the USOC and their top officials and coaches “put their quest for money and medals above the safety of the Plaintiff and other minor competitive athletes.”

Seven of the eight federal lawsuits related to Nassar’s sexual abuse of young athletes filed in California have been assigned to Judge Josephine L. Staton of U.S. District Court’s Central District of California in Santa Ana.

USA Gymnastics and Parilla asked Freeman to transfer the Raisman case to the Santa Ana court as well, arguing largely on convenience factors. Raisman, however, has opposed the move.

“Because the convenience factors are neutral and the interests of justice factor strongly favors transfer, the Court finds that on balance the statutory factors favor of transfer to the Central District of California,” Freeman wrote in her ruling. “However, the Court cannot order transfer because Ms. Raisman has declined to consent to the Central District of California and moving parties have failed to demonstrate that this action might have been brought in the Central District.”

Under federal law, Freeman wrote “Absent consent of all parties, the Court may transfer the action only to a “district or division where it might have been brought.”

“Because Ms. Raisman does not consent to the Central District of California,” Freeman concluded “ and moving parties have not demonstrated that this action might have been brought in the Central District of California, the transfer motion must be DENIED.”

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