Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Weinberger on Wednesday refused to let the Southern California Volleyball Association step out of a civil lawsuit brought by four women who say a former coach sexually abused them when they were in middle school. Two of the plaintiffs, identified in court filings as Y. and P., can move ahead with negligence, sexual harassment, and failure‑to‑report claims, while a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress was thrown out. The women, identified as J., O.B., Y., and P., allege the abuse happened while they were students at Gaspar de Portola Middle School in Tarzana, and they are now in their 20s.
By denying the SCVA’s request to be dismissed as a defendant on Y.’s and P.’s claims, Weinberger kept the association in the case on theories of negligence, sexual harassment, and failure‑to‑report, according to MyNewsLA.
Why reporting rules matter
California’s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act spells out who must report suspected abuse, how quickly they must do it, and what happens if they do not. The state also maintains a Child Abuse Central Index and publishes guidance for mandated reporters that shapes how schools, coaches, and youth organizations are supposed to respond when they learn of suspected abuse. According to the California Department of Justice, those reporting duties and record systems are key both to criminal investigations and to later civil lawsuits over alleged failures to report.
SCVA’s defense and the plaintiffs’ theory
In court filings, the SCVA argued there is no evidence that the coach, Jerome Lowe, was ever an SCVA member and that the girls were never in the association’s custody, care, or control. The organization also pointed out that Lowe was employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District and allegedly acted in that role when the abuse occurred, according to the association’s court papers.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys tell a very different story. They contend that the SCVA approved Lowe as a coach, could have required stronger protections for young athletes, and ultimately could have barred him from coaching once the abuse became public. Those arguments, they say, create triable questions for a jury about the association’s negligence and whether it met its reporting duties. LAUSD also opposed the SCVA’s bid to get out of the case, with those competing positions described in court documents summarized by MyNewsLA.
A broader pattern in youth sports
The lawsuit lands in the middle of a broader reckoning over sexual abuse in school and club sports, as districts and youth organizations face growing scrutiny over how they screen, supervise, and discipline coaches. High‑profile local cases have stirred public debate about safeguards and the responsibilities of schools and governing bodies, a debate explored in reporting by the Los Angeles Times.
Next steps
The lawsuit names LAUSD, former coach Jerome Lowe, and the SCVA as defendants, and the case now moves into deeper discovery and more pretrial motions. The SCVA has also asked the court to toss separate allegations brought by one plaintiff at a hearing the association scheduled for September, and the outcome is expected to hinge on what the court concludes about duty, supervision, and whether the association’s policies, or the lack of them, played a role in the alleged harm.
Legal implications
If a jury eventually decides the association owed a duty to the athletes and violated it, the SCVA could face damages for negligence and related claims. The failure‑to‑report allegations reach beyond money, touching on the public‑safety concerns that California’s reporting rules are designed to address. For now, the ruling keeps the key negligence and reporting claims alive and leaves for another day the core questions of who knew what, and when.
