Trevor Bauer and his accuser Lindsey Hill settle legal battle
LOS ANGELES - Star pitcher Trevor Bauer and his accuser Lindsey Hill have reached a settlement, ending their ongoing legal battles surrounding sexual assault allegations. Both parties have withdrawn their respective claims "with prejudice," as confirmed by a joint stipulation for dismissal.
In a statement issued by Trevor Bauer's attorneys, Jon Fetterolf and Shawn Holley, they stated, "Trevor Bauer and Lindsey Hill have settled all outstanding litigation. Both of their respective claims have been withdrawn with prejudice, effective today. Mr. Bauer did not make – and never has made – any payments to Ms. Hill, including to resolve their litigation. With this matter now at rest, Mr. Bauer can focus completely on baseball."
The settlement comes after a contentious legal battle that has spanned over two years. Bauer, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Hill had been involved in a series of legal disputes stemming from allegations made by Hill.
In a video statement released by Trevor Bauer himself, he addressed the allegations made against him. Bauer alleged that Hill had ulterior motives and presented text messages as evidence of her intentions. In the video, he claimed that Hill had sent text messages discussing financial gain and suggested that she intended to exploit her association with Bauer.
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Bauer also revealed the existence of a video taken by Hill the morning after the alleged incident, which he claimed painted a different picture of the events of May 15, 2021. According to Bauer, this video showed Hill in a relaxed state, without any visible marks, lying next to him while he slept.
Bauer further stated that critical information, including this video, had been concealed from him during the legal proceedings, but the metadata indicated that it was recorded minutes before Hill left his house on that morning.
In a twist of events, Judge Diana Gould-Saltman had previously ruled that Lindsey Hill had misled the court, and her claims were found to be materially misleading. The judge denied her request for a domestic violence restraining order and found no evidence of sexual assault or non-consensual conduct.
The legal battle had taken a toll on both parties, with Bauer mentioning that he had spent significantly more in legal fees than Hill could ever pay him. He emphasized that his pursuit of the lawsuit was not motivated by financial gain but rather by the need to clear his name.
The discovery process in the lawsuit had recently concluded, leading to a proposal by Hill's legal team to settle the case. In this settlement, neither party sought financial compensation from the other, and both agreed to drop their respective lawsuits. Bauer retained the right to speak publicly about the case, something he had not been able to do since June 2021.
Bryan Freedman, representing Lindsey Hill, provided a statement regarding the resolution of the lawsuit. "In April 2022, Trevor Bauer sued Lindsey Hill for defamation. In what turned out to be an outstanding resolution for Lindsey, neither Lindsey nor anyone on her behalf paid anything to Bauer. Not a single dollar. Even better, Lindsey received $300,000 dollars from her insurance company. Based on that payment, Lindsey agreed to settle the lawsuit. Now that the lawsuit is over, Lindsey looks forward to helping others."
With the lawsuits now settled, Trevor Bauer hopes to put this chapter behind him and focus on his career in baseball. The high-profile case has required him to defend his integrity and reputation in the public eye, and he expressed his desire to move forward and continue entertaining fans worldwide with his performance on the field.