Trevor Bauer Files Lawsuit Against Female Accuser; Still Awaits Decision From Major League Baseball

It has been nearly three months since the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced it would not seek criminal charges against Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, a declination that concluded a five-month review of the Pasadena Police Department’s investigation into sexual assault allegations leveled at Bauer by a San Diego woman last summer.

But while Bauer, 31, still awaits the outcome of a separate Major League Baseball investigation stemming from the same accusations — he remains on paid administrative leave and has not pitched for the Dodgers since last June — he has been busy on the legal front.

This week, Bauer filed a defamation and tortious interference lawsuit against the San Diego woman and one of her attorneys — Newport Beach-based Fred Thiagarajah — in California federal court. The complaint alleges that Bauer’s accuser “wanted to destroy Mr. Bauer’s reputation and baseball career, garner attention for herself, and extract millions of dollars from Mr. Bauer,” and that Thiagarajah “aided in those efforts.”

Last month, Bauer filed two separate defamation lawsuits: one in Manhattan federal court against G/O Media, the parent company of Deadspin, and managing editor Chris Baud; and the second filed in California federal court against The Athletic and former reporter, Molly Knight. Bauer said he filed the suits against both outlets “for knowingly publishing false information” about him and the sexual assault allegations he faced.

“Deadspin’s malicious and reckless disregard of the truth in the Article reflects a years-long effort to harass Mr. Bauer, impugn his reputation, and spread falsehoods about him,” reads part of the Deadspin complaint.

“Trevor Bauer’s baseless lawsuits against Deadspin and other media organizations are clearly meant to intimidate journalists from reporting about his actions. We are confident that this lawsuit against Deadspin will be seen for the PR stunt that it is,” Lynn Oberlander, an attorney at Ballard Spahr LLP and who represents G/O Media and Baud, said in a statement.

Bauer claims in the Athletic suit that the outlet “published the Article with hatred, ill will, and spite, with the intent to harm Mr. Bauer or in blatant disregard of the substantial likelihood of causing him harm. The Article was part of a campaign to maliciously target and harass Mr. Bauer.”

“We are aware of legal action taken by Trevor Bauer. We’re confident in our reporting and plan to defend against the claim,” a New York Times Company spokesperson said in a statement. The New York Times owns The Athletic.

A day after Bauer last pitched in the majors, June 28, 2021, a San Diego woman was granted an ex parte temporary domestic violence restraining order against Bauer. In her original DVRO request, the then 27-year-old woman claimed in a declaration that she had two sexual encounters with Bauer at his Pasadena home, in April and May, 2021. Among her allegations were that Bauer choked her until she was unconscious during sex, that he sodomized her without her consent and that Bauer punched her in several different places on her body.

Jon Fetterolf, Bauer’s agent and attorney, said at the time that Bauer “had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by [the woman] beginning in April 2021.”

Following a four-day hearing held in Los Angeles Superior Court last August, a judge denied the woman a permanent restraining order and dissolved the temporary restraining order. In part of her ruling, Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman said the woman’s DVRO petition was “materially misleading.” Bauer did not testify during the hearing.

The Pasadena Police Department turned over its case to the D.A.’s office shortly after the restraining order hearing, but this past February, L.A. County prosecutors declined to press charges against Bauer.

“After a thorough review of all the available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the People are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” the D.A.’s office said in its declination.

On that same day, Bauer posted a YouTube video clip entitled, “The Truth,” in which he said he had “consensual sex” with the woman on two occasions, “during which we engaged in rough sex.” Bauer denied in the video ever sodomizing or punching the woman.

“I never assaulted her in any way at any time,” Bauer said.

The lawsuit filed against the woman this week alleges she made “false claims” against Bauer and that she “continued to pursue” Bauer after the April 2021 encounter “so she could have rough sex with him again… Unbeknownst to Mr. Bauer, who believed (the woman) was just expressing her sexual preferences, (the woman’s) goal was to lure Mr. Bauer into having a rougher sexual experience so she could later claim this sexual experience was not what she requested and thereby lay the groundwork for a financial settlement.”

“Evidence uncovered at the hearing revealed that (the woman) was motivated by desires to negatively influence Mr. Bauer’s baseball performance, destroy his career, garner public attention, and gain a settlement by making false allegations against Mr. Bauer and that she was using her report to the (Pasadena Police) and the DVRO proceeding as vehicles to execute her plan,” reads the complaint.

According to a court filing, two of the woman’s attorneys, Lisa Helfend Meyer and Doreen Marie Olson, withdrew from the case on April 5. Thiagarajah, the other defendant in the suit, declined comment through his office. His office would not confirm if Thiagarajah still represents the woman.

Marc Garelick and Bryan Freedman, who are listed as attorneys for the woman in court records, did not respond to requests for comment.

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has the authority to suspend players deemed to have violated the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy even if they have not been charged or convicted. The policy was implemented in 2015. If Bauer was suspended by Manfred, he would have the right to appeal and would file a grievance. According to reports, Bauer’s latest administrative leave extension is set to expire Friday.

Bauer’s representative declined further comment on the lawsuit filed this week. Last year was the first of a three-year, $102 million contract Bauer signed with the Dodgers.