Steven Tyler Lawsuit Faces Judge Change Less Than Two Weeks Before Trial

A lawsuit filed against Steven Tyler is facing a major procedural change less than two weeks before the scheduled jury trial, after the judge assigned to the case recused herself.

During a Sept. 15 status conference in Los Angeles, Judge Patricia A. Young informed attorneys that she had determined she was disqualified from hearing the case, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. The case will now be reassigned, with attorneys ordered to appear before a supervising judge on Sept. 18.

The development comes as the trial remains scheduled to begin Sept. 28 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles.

Case to Be Reassigned

According to the court filing, the court notified the parties of the issue on Sept. 14 and gave attorneys 24 hours to determine whether they would agree to allow Young to continue handling the matter.

Not all parties and attorneys agreed.

“The Court hereby recuses itself on this case,” the document states.

The case will now go before Supervising Judge Lawrence Riff on Friday, Sept. 18. Attorneys are expected to address the reassignment and whether the case remains ready to proceed to trial.

The jury trial is currently scheduled to begin Sept. 28 and is expected to last between seven and 10 days.

What the Lawsuit Alleges

Julia Misley filed the lawsuit in December 2022, accusing Tyler of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from an alleged relationship with the Aerosmith singer when she was a teenager in the 1970s.

Most of Misley’s claims were dismissed earlier this year. However, a Los Angeles judge ruled in April that one claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress could proceed.

That remaining claim concerns an allegation that Misley and Tyler had sex at a hotel and in a public hot tub in California in 1974, when Misley was 16, according to earlier court filings.

Misley has also alleged that by June 1975, she and Tyler were engaged to be married, expecting a child and living together in Massachusetts.

Tyler has denied Misley’s allegations. In court filings, his attorneys argued that she consented to their sexual relationship and that Tyler was immune from the claims because he had served as her legal guardian.

The allegations have been disputed by Tyler, and the remaining claim has yet to be determined at trial.

The Lawsuit and Tyler’s Memoir

Misley’s lawsuit initially did not identify Tyler by name. However, her allegations corresponded with an account in Tyler’s 2011 memoir, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?, concerning his relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

Misley later identified Tyler in a public statement.

The case has since undergone significant changes, with the majority of the original claims dismissed. In April, Tyler’s attorney, David Long-Daniels, characterized that ruling as “a massive win for Steven Tyler.”

Long-Daniels told PEOPLE at the time that 99.9% of the claims had been dismissed with prejudice and that only allegations relating to one night more than 50 years ago remained.

A Previous Lawsuit Was Also Dismissed

The current case is not the only sexual assault lawsuit Tyler has faced in recent years.

A separate woman sued the Aerosmith singer in November 2023, alleging that he assaulted her twice in one day when she was a teenager in 1975.

That lawsuit was dismissed in February after a New York judge ruled that the accuser had waited too long to bring the case, according to previous reporting.

The upcoming proceedings in Los Angeles involve the remaining claim in Misley’s lawsuit.

For now, the immediate issue is the change in the judge overseeing the case. Attorneys are scheduled to appear before Supervising Judge Lawrence Riff on Sept. 18, less than two weeks before the Sept. 28 trial date.

PEOPLE has reached out to attorneys for Misley and Tyler for comment.