GREENVILLE, S.C. (Legal Newsline) The South Carolina cheerleading gym alleged to have failed to supervise its coaches while they sexually assaulted minors has defeated parts of their lawsuit.
Federal judge Henry Herlong on Sept. 11 ruled for Rockstar Cheer & Dance and the widow of Scott Foster - the man who ran the gym and killed himself when the allegations came to light.
Cheerleaders sued several defendants, and Herlong's order deals only with Kathy Foster and Rockstar. With thee plaintiffs having dropped their RICO, South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act, fraud and civil conspiracy claims, Herlong considered claims made under the Child Abuse Victims' Rights Act and for assault and battery.
Five plaintiffs failed to show they were subjected to illegal sexual conduct after crossing state lines, and five others couldn't show Kathy Foster "enticed them to travel across state lines or that she intended that they would be subjected to unlawful sexual acts," Herlong ruled.
The now-defunct Rockstar Cheer was run by Scott Foster. Seven women and two men say they were sexually abused by coaches there, and Foster killed himself when the allegations came to light last year.
Herlong has already allowed to continue claims against Varsity Spirit that it failed to identify and correct problems at Rockstar but dismissed claims against USA Cheer. He also refused to dismiss all claims against Jeff Webb, the man responsible for the competitive cheerleading industry.
Foster shot himself on Aug. 22, having learned of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security of allegations he was sexually abusing underage athletes, the suit says.
The complaint includes allegations Foster sent pictures of his penis to a 16-year-old boy who later felt obligated to perform oral sex on Foster. The rest of the allegations can be read here.
The account of one plaintiff reads:
"When the team arrived at the hotel the night before the competition, Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 recalls that multiple people stayed in a single room per Defendant Scott Foster’s arrangement.
"One such person assigned to stay in Plaintiff Jane Doe 3’s room was an adult coach who climbed into bed with Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 and groped and fondled her, and digitally penetrated her. She was 16 years old at the time.
"Thereafter Defendant Scott Foster arranged for Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 to receive a private lesson from the same coach. Instead of training, however, the other coach took Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 to his apartment, where he gave her alcohol and marijuana, before transporting Plaintiff Jane Doe 3 to a secondary location, where he raped her."
As for whether these accusations could lead to a finding Rockstar is responsible for assault and battery, Rockstar said the coaches were acting outside the scope of their employment. Herlong agreed.
"Here, Plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged that it was part of the coaches' duties to sexually abuse and assault minor athletes or that such conduct was motived by a desire to further Rockstar's interests," Herlong wrote.
"Indeed, South Carolina state courts and courts within the District of South Carolina have uniformly held that an employee's sexual misconduct falls outside the scope of employment."