Judge’s Decision Delays Gathers Trial

The long-awaited trial to settle lawsuits relating to the death of former Loyola Marymount basketball star Hank Gathers will be delayed and probably won’t start until the middle of next year at the earliest.

Judge Douglas McKee of Los Angeles County Superior Court in Torrance on Thursday denied a request to give the case “priority status,” which would have allowed the trial to start Sept. 3.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs--Hank Gathers’ mother, brothers, an aunt and his son--and the defendants--Loyola Marymount University, former coach Paul Westhead and several of the doctors who treated Gathers--had agreed on a Sept. 3 start date last November.

However, when Ken Wolf, an attorney representing Gathers’ 8-year-old son, Aaron Crump, tried to lock in the date, his request was denied. McKee noted that an amended complaint was recently filed and several defendants had not seen the filing.

“My concern is, are you at issue (ready)? If not, priority is irrelevant,” McKee said.

Bruce Fagel, an attorney representing the Gathers family, said earlier this week that if the request were denied, the trial would be delayed at least six months if not longer.

Michael Montgomery, an attorney representing Loyola, said he plans to seek changes to the new complaint, which would further delay the trial.

It usually takes about two years before civil cases can be heard. Medical malpractice cases often take several years before going to trial.

Gathers collapsed March 4, 1990, while playing in a West Coast Conference tournament game at Gersten Pavilion, and was pronounced dead 1 hour 40 minutes later at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital.

An autopsy determined the cause of death to be cardiomyopathy, a heart disorder.