Steven Tyler Lawsuit Gets a Fifth Judge and a New Trial Date of May 3

A new judge is now handling Julia Misley's lawsuit against Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, and the trial has been reset for May 3. Judge Lawrence Riff is the fifth judge to preside over the case, according to Rolling Stone.

Riff has said he will reconsider any rulings made by his predecessor, Judge Patricia Young, if either side asks him to. He will review those earlier decisions using the written arguments already filed. Neither side will be allowed to submit new ones.

Young stepped aside in September. On Tuesday, Sept. 15, she recused herself, which means she removed herself from the case. She had disclosed that she had discussed the case with another judge who had previously been disqualified. The jury trial then set for Sept. 28 was automatically taken off the calendar, as People and Rolling Stone reported.

Misley filed the lawsuit in December 2022. She is formerly known as Julia Holcomb. She claims Tyler groomed and sexually abused her beginning in 1973, when she was a high school sophomore and he was 25. These are allegations. No jury has heard the case.

The claims have already been narrowed. In January 2026, a ruling let Misley proceed to trial on some allegations of child sexual abuse, while claims arising outside California were rejected. A later ruling, known as summary adjudication, decides some claims before trial without a full hearing of the evidence. That ruling dismissed Misley's claims involving alleged misconduct in Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington, leaving only the California claims. Her lawyers have said they will challenge it.

The case has now been through several judges and several rulings in the nearly four years since it was filed. For the people involved, the practical change is a new calendar date and a judge who will revisit earlier decisions on paper. The trial itself is set for May 3.