Football Star Ben Roethlisberger Resolves Lawsuit With Reno, Nevada Woman

A former Lake Tahoe casino hostess (Andrea McNulty) previously sued football star Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, alleging that he raped her while he was visitng Lake Tahoe for a celebrity golf tournament in 2008.

In her lawsuit filed in 2009, McNulty clamed Roethlisberger lured her into his penthouse suite at the Harrah’s Lake Tahoe casino and hotel and forced her to have sex with him. The lawsuit also named several of McNulty’s co-workers as defendants alleging they covered up the incident.

In her lawsuit, McNulty sought general and punitive damages, as well as $380,000 to cover medical expenses for care McNulty claimed she needed to deal with the emotional distress she suffered from the alleged rape. However, the parties recently filed stipulations to dismiss the lawsuit and both sides refused to discuss the terms of the stipulation to dismiss.

It is not uncommon in cases such as this for parties to move to dismiss a case after reaching a confidential settlement. Commenting on this case, Paul Padda Law, PLLC partner Ruth Cohen noted that allegations of abuse at the hands of a celebrity can be difficult to bring “which is why aggressive representation is always necessary.” Ms. Cohen added, “a celebrity is going to have top notch lawyers, which is why you need to let the other side know you mean business right out of the gate.”