The owner of a Lansing-area gymnastics club wants a lawsuit against him and his club thrown out.
The suit was filed by alleged victims of former sports doctor Larry Nassar. On Friday, lawyers for Twistars and its owner John Geddert filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Twistars is one of the locations where some of the 141 women and girls who've filed suit say Nassar sexually abused them. According to the motion, Nassar volunteered his time at the club but was never under contract or an employee.
The motion says Geddert wasn't a witness to any alleged abuse by Nassar and didn't learn of any allegations until after he was arrested. It also says the statute of limitations has run out on most of the claims.
From the motion:
Mr. Geddert was just one person in an extremely long line of people who were fooled by Nassar. This fact does not give rise to liability. Even if it somehow could, the statute of limitations is expired as to all but a handful of Plaintiffs. There is no merit to any of the allegations made against him or against his award-winning gym.
Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics are named as co-defendants in the lawsuit. Last month, USA Gymnastics filed a similar motion calling for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Nassar has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing multiple gymnasts in Ingham and Eaton Counties under the guise of medical treatment. Sentencing for the Ingham County charges is set for this week.
