Accused volleyball coach asks judge to toss Chicago lawsuit

CHICAGO (AP) - A prominent Chicago-area volleyball coach wants a judge to dismiss a novel lawsuit claiming he broke consumer fraud law by not telling athletes he trained recently about decades-old allegations he'd sexually abused several girls in the 1980s.

Rick Butler's motion filed late Monday in Chicago federal court argues that plaintiff Laura Mullen, whose daughters Butler coached, sought to "make headlines" off "slanderous...and unsubstantiated" allegations from the past. It says she showed no harm to her kids at Butlers' Aurora-based training facilities.

An Illinois agency in 1995 found no evidence supporting Butler's assertion that three accusers that year were lying.

Mullen doesn't allege Butler sexually abused her daughters, contending the abuse was verbal and emotional. Her lawyer, Jay Edelson, said Monday's motion relied on "empty rhetoric" and "misapprehension" of basic law.