Case 1:18-cv-00981-CMA-MEH Document 209 Filed 02/14/19 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-00981-CMA-MEH

HEIDI GILBERT,
AMBER MEANS,
MANDY MELOON,
GABRIELA JOSLIN,
KAY POE, and
and JANE DOES 6-50,
on behalf of themselves and
others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE,
USA TAEKWONDO INC.,
U.S. CENTER FOR SAFESPORT
STEVEN LOPEZ,
JEAN LOPEZ,
and JOHN DOES 1-5,
Defendants.

RESPONSE OF U.S. CENTER FOR SAFESPORT

TO PLAINTIFFS’ SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF [ECF 207]

Plaintiffs’ procedurally improper and largely pointless “supplemental” brief tries to

obscure the “undisputed” fact, correctly noted in oral argument, that the Center “had no

power to take any action against anybody until March 3 of 2017 … when SafeSport

opened its doors to receive complaints.” Tr. 1/23/19 at 113:5-10. This is the same fact

alleged in Plaintiffs’ own complaint stating “it was not until March 2017 that SafeSport

‘opened.’” ECF 68 at ¶ 282; see also id. ¶ 273 (discussing “the creation and rollout of the

[Center] in 2017”); id. ¶ 283 (alleging USOC’s purported gross negligence “in delaying the

opening of SafeSport until ‘March of 2017’”).

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The undisputed (and indisputable) fact that the Center first opened to receive

complaints in March 2017 is confirmed by a congressional oversight report filed by

Plaintiffs. The report states that the Center (“USCSS”) was “launched on March 3, 2017.”

Report at 116 (ECF 196-3 at 117). It then discusses the “significant number of reports to

USCSS since [its] opening in March 2017.” Id. at 117 (ECF 196-3 at 118).

There is no legal basis for holding the Center liable for not having acted before

March 2017. Of course, as the Center’s counsel and the Court both observed, the Center

had to be established and have employees before it could first “take action” in March

2017. See Tr. 1/23/19 at 113:1-7, 114:6-10. Thus, contrary to Plaintiffs’ strawman attack,

the Center never “argued that SafeSport did not exist until March, 2017.” ECF 207 at 1.

Instead, the Center simply stated the indisputable point that it “had no power to take any

action against anybody until March 3 of 2017 … when SafeSport opened its doors to

receive complaints.” Tr. 1/23/19 at 113:5-10.

Plaintiffs wrongly try to fault the Center for pre-March 2017 inaction that it had no

power to take. See, e.g., ECF 68 at ¶ 277 (“SafeSport did absolutely nothing from 2006

(when Mandy Meloon first reported her sexual abuse) until April 2018 to stop any of the

ongoing sexual abuse of the U.S. Olympic taekwondo athletes by Jean or Steven

Lopez.”). As this Court previously noted, however, “SafeSport did not exist until well after

the allegations of sexual abuse in the SAC had concluded.” ECF 168 at 4. Nor does the

second amended complaint contain any allegation (much less any plausible allegation)

of affirmative conduct by the Center prior to March 2017 that could amount to criminal

“obstruction” of any prior investigation into the Lopezes. ECF 207 at 3.

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Plaintiffs’ “supplemental” filing only highlights the legal deficiencies in their

complaint against the Center. No “conditional” amendment (ECF 196) or “supplemental”

filing (ECF 207) can mask these fatal deficiencies.

Respectfully submitted,

s/ Sean Connelly
Sean Connelly
CONNELLY LAW, LLC
3200 Cherry Creek So. Dr., Suite 720
Denver, CO 80209
(303) 302-7849
sean@sconnellylaw.com

Michael Kotlarczyk
Kathleen C. Pritchard
DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS, LLP
1550 17th Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 892-9400
(303) 893-1379 (fax)
mike.kotlarczyk@dgslaw.com
kathleen.pritchard@dgslaw.com

Attorneys for U.S. Center for SafeSport

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that this Brief was filed and served on this 14th day of February
2019, using the CM/ECF system, which will serve as notification of such filings on counsel
for all parties.

s/ Sean Connelly
Sean Connelly