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Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Byron Scott filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week, a move that no one expected, considering there were no reports or indications that the former Showtime Laker was financially struggling.
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However, according to lawyer Kerry Garvis Wright, who represents Hayley Dylan in her civil sexual assault case against Scott, the move was a blatant attempt to delay and perhaps avoid trial.
In a statement to the L.A. Times, Wright called Scott’s Chapter 7 filing a “pathetic and cowardly” move to “deprive his victim of her day in court.”
“Literally on the eve of trial, he filed for bankruptcy, thereby pausing the lawsuit,” Wright said. “Yet nothing has changed in the four years since Hayley Dylan bravely came forward and publicly disclosed that Scott had sexually assaulted her in a janitor’s closet of her K-12 school.”
Chapter 7 automatically triggers a stay in civil cases
Dylan accused Scott of sexually molesting her in a janitor’s closet at Studio City Campbell High School in the summer of 1987, when the Los Angeles Lakers were on campus to film a basketball instructional video inside the school’s gym. Allegedly, the then 26-year-old Scott led the 15-year-old girl to the closet where the assault took place.
The civil case was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2022 following the promulgation of the California Child Victims Act of 2020, which extended the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil claims against their abusers.
Scott’s trial was set to start on September 8. However, a day before it was to begin, the former NBA star filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which automatically triggers a stay in civil cases. To Wright and the camp of Dyan, it was an obvious manipulation by B-Scott’s team.
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“Scott should know that when he emerges from his bankruptcy (if it is not summarily dismissed for being a sham filing), Hayley will be waiting for him, ready to go to trial and hold him accountable,” the lawyer added.
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Scott claims “alleged tort liability” in Chapter 7 filing
In his Chapter 7 filing, Scott listed his assets to be worth $50,000 or less, with his liabilities between $1 million and $10 million, while claiming debts described as ‘alleged tort liability’ rather than consumer or business debts.
“Although obviously trying to avoid the legal consequences of his despicable conduct, Scott cannot run from the fact that he admitted under penalty of perjury that the sexual encounter took place,” Wright continued. His only excuse? That he thought Hayley was 18 and that it was consensual. But the evidence will show that Scott’s supposed belief that Hayley was 18 is neither credible nor reasonable and that what occurred in the dark, tiny closet was anything but consensual.”
Scott earned an estimated $10.8 million during his playing career in the NBA and much more during his head coaching career. Most notably, he signed a four-year, $17 million deal to coach the Lakers. According to Celebrity Networth, B-Scott had a net worth of $14 million before this civil case entered the picture.
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 5:45 AM.