Former MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer settled his legal battle with a woman who had accused him of sexual battery in July 2021.
The legal battle has been turbulent. After Lindsey Hill accused the former Dodger of sexual battery, he filed a defamation suit against her; she filed a counterclaim of sexual battery.
According to the settlement agreement obtained by the Washington Post, both parties will pay their own attorneys’ fees, neither are paying to settle the case, and both Mr Bauer and Ms Hill continue to deny the other’s allegations.
Mr Bauer posted a video on X following the settlement agreement, detailing his gripes with Ms Hill’s argument.
“‘Next victim. Star pitcher for the Dodgers,’” Mr Bauer said, allegedly quoting his accuser. “A text Lindsey Hill sent to a friend before she ever even met me. ‘What should I steal?’ she asked another, in reference to visiting my house for the first time. The answer? ‘Take his money.’”
The baseball player continued, “But how was she going to do that? ‘Need daddy to choke me out,’ she said. ‘Being an absolute wh*** to try to get in on his 51 million,’ read another text.”
“I never sexually assaulted Lindsey Hill, or anyone else for that matter,” Mr Bauer said in the video.
“Quite frankly, regardless of the outcome in court, I’ve paid significantly more in legal fees than Lindsey Hill could ever pay me in her entire life, and I knew that would be the case going in,” he continued. “But the lawsuit was never about the money for me. It was the only way for me to obtain critical information to clear my name.”
“Now over the last two years, I’ve been forced to defend my integrity and my reputation in a very public setting, but hopefully this is the last time I have to do so, as I’d prefer to just remain focused on doing my job, winning baseball games and entertaining fans around the world,” he added. “So today I’m happy to be moving on with my life.”
By contrast, Ms Hill told the Post that she believed Mr Bauer sued her for the purposes of “intimidation of the other victims and trying to sway the arbitration process.”
The lawyers for both sides have also commented on the settlement deal.
Mr Bauer’s attorneys Jon Fetterolf and Shawn Holley told Fox News in a statement: “Trevor Bauer and Lindsey Hill have settled all outstanding litigation. Both of their respective claims have been withdrawn with prejudice, effective today.” They added, “With this matter now at rest, Mr Bauer can focus completely on baseball,” the lawyers added.
The 32-year-old pitcher was suspended after Ms Hill’s claims first surfaced. At the time of the allegations, Mr Bauer was making one of the highest salaries in the league — $38 million — but was dropped by the Los Angeles Dodgers upon his return. No other MLB team would agree to sign him for the minimum salary, so he began competing in Japan.
Ms Hill’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told The Independent that the settlement was “an outstanding resolution for Lindsey,” as “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.”
The Independent has reached out to lawyers for Mr Bauer.
