Judge advances class action against Pasadena doctor for sexual abuse

A U.S. judge allowed a class action to move forward that alleges an obstetrician at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena sexually abused female patients.

The complaint, filed in the Central District of California, claimed Dr. Patrick Sutton inappropriately touched women in his care under the guise of medical examinations. Anonymous former patients describe Sutton stroking their legs, making sexual comments about their bodies and touching their genitals in what they felt was a non-medical manner. Jane Doe K.G. et al. v. Pasadena Hospital Association, 2:18-cv-08710-ODW-MAA (C.D. Cal., filed Oct. 10, 2018).

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II dismissed some claims in an order issued Monday, including an allegation of gender violence and sexual harassment. However, Wright threw out many of the defendants' motions to dismiss, likening their effort to "throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks," according to court documents.

Annika K. Martin, the Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the judge's ruling is indicative that he understands the power dynamics at play that have been recognized in similar cases, such as those involving former USC gynecologist George Tyndall and disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

"It's a big win for the plaintiffs in the class," said Martin. "The thing I think is important here, other than defeating most of the motions to dismiss, is that the judge recognized the power imbalance that's fundamental in these kinds of cases of institutional sexual assault."

-- Nicole Tyau