Hawaii judge rejects settlement in Jayden de Laura sexual assault civil case

The civil case against Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura will continue after a Hawaii judge rejected the terms of a settlement agreed upon late last year.

Judge Lisa Cataldo ruled on Aug. 31 that the amount of a settlement agreed upon in December 2022 was “too low” considering new information related to the income of both de Laura and Wisconsin safety Kamo’i Latu, who were both named in the civil suit along with their alma mater St. Louis School.

Amended information about de Laura’s income, submitted to the court in June and likely from NIL compensation, “significantly increased” the amount that had previously been disclosed, the judge wrote. The same went for Latu, who provided updated income info in May, and a filing by St. Louis School indicated “the income that he received in the month of May 2023 alone is more than the total income previously reported.”

In July, HawaiiNewsNow.com reported that St. Louis School objected to the settlement agreement between de Laura, Latu and the plaintiff. In their objection, St. Louis claimed de Laura earned approximately $8,000 per month.

The civil suit, filed in December 2021, alleges then-high school juniors de Laura and Latu sexually assaulted a classmate in a parking garage on the campus of St. Louis School in October 2018 after a state football playoff game. The suit claims both pled guilty to, and were convicted of sexual assault, but that neither was given jail time.

Because the alleged assault occurred when both defendants were minors, the case was handled in juvenile court and all files are sealed.

Arizona released a statement in May, shortly after the claims against de Laura became public, that it learned of the civil suit last fall. De Laura had joined the program in January 2022 after transferring from Washington State.

“After reviewing the matter, the determination was made to allow de Laura to continue as a student-athlete and his status remains unchanged,” the statement read.

De Laura and UA head coach Jedd Fisch both spoke at Pac-12 Football Media Day in late July about the sexual assault allegations, with de Laura saying he wanted to clear his name but “I’m bound by law not to discuss this matter at all.”