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Nigel Lythgoe Dismissed From ‘All American Girl’ Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Two ‘All American Girl’ constestants who claim Nigel Lythgoe groped and forcibly kissed them in 2003 waited too long to sue, a judge ruled Friday.

At a Friday afternoon hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shirley K. Watkins ruled that the two Jane Doe plaintiffs who brought a joint lawsuit in January do not qualify for revival of their claims under the law cited in their complaint. It was back in January that Paula Abdulfirst sued Lythgoe and the companies behind American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance with claims the 74-year-old producer sexually harassed and assaulted her multiple times while she was hosting or otherwise working on the reality competition shows. The three remaining lawsuits against Lythgoe all cite the revival window opened by California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, but they include allegations on or after January 1, 2009, so they’re not dependent on the section of the law that was ruled on by Judge Watkins on Friday.

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