‘Make it look like Trevor didn’t pay her’: Ex-Dodger Bauer sues accuser for allegedly violating settlement terms
Former Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is suing the San Diego woman who accused him of sexual assault for allegedly breaching the terms of an agreement they reached last year to settle their civil lawsuits against each other.
In a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Bauer alleges that Lindsey Hill violated language in their agreement that prevents either party from stating publicly that they received any financial compensation from the other as part of the settlement.
The lawsuit states that Hill made such statements 22 times, once on a podcast and the others on social media. As quoted in the lawsuit, a party is entitled to $10,000 in liquidated damages for each separate breach by the other party. Bauer is asking for liquidated damages of $220,000, as well as attorney’s fees and other costs and expenses.
While The Times generally does not identify sexual assault victims and accusers, Hill’s attorneys identified her in public statements on Oct. 2, 2023, when the settlement was announced.
A woman who accused Trevor Bauer of sexual assault was indicted by a grand jury on two felony charges. What does this mean for Bauer and his MLB future?
Hill’s accusations against Bauer first surfaced in June 2021, when she obtained a temporary restraining order against the then-Dodgers pitcher. Later that year, Hill was denied a permanent restraining order against Bauer, and the L.A. County district attorney‘s office declined to charge Bauer with a crime. Bauer has maintained his innocence throughout.
After Major League Baseball suspended Bauer for 324 games (later reduced to 194 games) for violating its policy against sexual assault and domestic violence, Bauer sued Hill for defamation. Hill countersued for assault and sexual battery. Bauer has not landed a job with an MLB team since serving his suspension. He currently plays for the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League.
On Oct. 2, 2023, both sides announced they had settled their lawsuits against each other, specifically stating that neither side had paid any money to the other. Last week’s filing includes as exhibits the settlement agreement and an email from Hill’s attorneys to Bauer’s attorneys from Sept. 27, 2023.
“That email made clear, as acknowledged by Hill and her counsel, that Bauer never paid nor offered Hill any money at any time to resolve any of her claims,” the lawsuit states.
The former Dodgers pitcher hasn’t appeared in a major league game since 2021 after MLB determined he violated its domestic violence policy. He made his case for reinstatement to a Times reporter.
“It also noted that Bauer was informed that Hill had entered an agreement with her own insurance, whereby her own insurance company was going to pay her or her counsel $300,000 if the respective lawsuit was dismissed. Hill and her counsel acknowledged that this was an agreement negotiated between her and Hill’s father’s insurance carrier, and Bauer was not a signatory or participant in any such negotiations or the agreement.”
Hill appeared to state otherwise on the June 2 episode of the “Breaking Balls” podcast. She told host Emily Nyman that her insurance provider actually paid the $300,000 to Bauer, who then paid the sum to Hill.
Hill said it was an arrangement agreed to by both sides, although Bauer’s lawyer had one condition.
“The lawyer said, ‘We have to make it look like Trevor didn’t pay her,’” Hill said. “‘It can’t be anywhere on paper. Like, she can keep the money. But ... we have to be able to tell the media he didn’t pay her a cent.’”
Bauer sued a San Diego woman, Lindsey Hill, for defamation. She countersued for assault and sexual battery. Neither side will pay money to the other.
Hill added: “And so it was this whole master scheme, and I just watched him say, ‘I didn’t pay a dime.’ It’s like he just lies through his teeth, but they said, you know, ‘That’s the one thing you can’t talk about, and you’re going to pay liquidated damages if you ever leak that, like, this was technically his money that he gave back to you.’”
Bauer’s lawsuit included a portion of the transcript from the podcast episode, as well as screenshots of 21 subsequent social media posts said to be from Hill’s accounts that make similar claims. The podcast episode remains online, as do some of the social media posts.
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