United States Court for the District of Kansas Grants Summary Judgment in Highly Publicized Sexual Abuse Case 

05/09/2022

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In May 2022, Judge Lungstrum granted summary judgment in favor of the United States Tennis Association (“USTA”), barring the plaintiff’s claims in a highly publicized sexual abuse case.  Originally filed in Jackson County, Missouri, the case was removed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri and then transferred to the District of Kansas.  The plaintiff alleged that when she was 15 years old, she was sexually abused by her private tennis coach, Rex Haultain. The plaintiff and Rex Haultain were due paying members of USTA when the alleged abuse occurred in 2010.  Plaintiff claimed that USTA, the National Governing Body for the sport of tennis in the United States, was negligent in failing to protect her from abuse at the hands of her private tennis coach. Plaintiff also made a claim for forced labor in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sections 1589(b), 1595(a) and 2255 against USTA.  USTA’s Motion to Dismiss the forced labor claim was granted and the claim was dismissed with prejudice in October 2020. In February 2021, USTA moved for Summary Judgment arguing that USTA owed no duty to plaintiff, and that pursuant to Missouri’s claim accrual analysis and borrowing statute, plaintiff’s negligence claims against USTA were barred by the statutes of limitations of Nevada, Alabama, and Kansas. The Court found that Plaintiff’s claims were barred by the statutes of limitations of Nevada and Kansas and entered judgment in favor of USTA and co-defendant Flex Financial, which operated the Kansas City Racquet Club where plaintiff trained with Rex Haultain.  The Court ruled that it did not need to address the legal duty question as defendants were entitled to summary judgment based on the statutes of limitations. The case is being defended by Franke, Schultz and Mullen partners Heather Hatley and Derek Johannsen.