A civil sexual assault case involving former Los Angeles Lakers player and coach Byron Scott has been put on hold after Scott filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, automatically pausing the state-court proceedings against him.
Hayley Dylan alleges that Scott sexually assaulted her in 1987 at Campbell Hall School in Studio City, when she was 15 years old and Scott was a 26-year-old married Lakers player. According to her lawsuit, Scott and other Lakers players were on campus to film an instructional basketball video when Scott and Dylan left the gym area before the alleged assault occurred in a janitor’s closet. Scott has acknowledged that sexual contact took place but has maintained that he believed Dylan was at least 18 and part of the production crew rather than a student.
The case had been moving toward a jury trial, but Scott’s Chapter 7 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California triggered an automatic stay. That means the civil case cannot currently proceed unless the bankruptcy court allows it to resume. Dylan’s legal team has said it intends to seek relief from the stay so the matter can return to state court and be heard by a jury.
Scott’s bankruptcy filing lists the nature of his debt as “alleged tort liability.” He estimated his assets at $50,000 or less and his liabilities between $1 million and $10 million.
The timing of the filing has drawn a furious response from Dylan’s attorney, Kerry Garvis Wright, who characterized it as a “pathetic and cowardly” effort to prevent her client from reaching trial. Wright said Dylan’s attorneys plan to pursue every available option to lift the bankruptcy stay and continue the case.
The lawsuit dates back to 2022 and was made possible by California legislation that expanded the time available for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to bring civil claims. Campbell Hall was also named as a defendant in the case but reached a confidential settlement with Dylan in August. The amount of that settlement remains sealed pending the outcome of the litigation against Scott.
For Scott, the bankruptcy filing does not resolve the allegations against him and does not amount to a finding on the merits of Dylan’s claims. At this stage, it has primarily changed the forum and timing of the legal battle.
The central issue now is whether the bankruptcy court will permit Dylan’s civil case to return to Los Angeles Superior Court. Until that question is decided, a case that had been approaching a jury remains suspended, leaving one of the most serious allegations ever brought against a former Lakers figure unresolved.
