The judge who was scheduled to preside over an actor’s sexual assault/battery lawsuit against Tyler Perry has agreed to step down from the case.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gail Killefer on Monday accepted plaintiff Mario Rodriguez’s challenge to her assignment. The lawsuit was transferred by a supervising judge to Judge Brock Hammond, who will assign the first date for proceedings in the case at a later date.
Hammond is a former deputy public defender for both Los Angeles and Orange counties. He was named to the bench by Gov. Gavin Newsom in August 2023.
Rodriguez was not required to state his reasons for wanting to remove Killefer other than to say he believed she would be prejudiced.
Rodriguez appeared in “Boo! A Madea Halloween” and accuses the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances. Rodriguez also is suing Lionsgate Films, which distributed the 2016 film, accusing the studio of ignoring Perry’s alleged misconduct. The suit was filed Dec. 26.