National Football League

Court to rule on Roethlisberger venue

Published May. 12, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The Supreme Court of Nevada will rule on a change-of-venue request in the civil lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Thursday.

According to the report, all seven members of the state's supreme court will decide whether the case will be tried in Reno, where the suit was filed, or in Lake Tahoe where the alleged incident took place.

The order was handed down by Chief Justice Michael L. Douglas in Carson City. No timetable on when the supreme court will reach a decision has been announced.

Roethlisberger, 29, is accused of sexually assaulting a former Harrah's Lake Tahoe VIP hostess in July 2008. The now 33-year-old woman filed the civil suit against the Steelers quarterback in August 2009.

Roethlisberger's attorneys were denied a change-of-venue request nearly 20 months ago, according to the Post-Gazette, and the case has been in limbo ever since.

According to the report, the lawsuit also names eight Harrah's employees, who are accused of ignoring or hindering the alleged victim's attempts to have Roethlisberger held accountable.

In March 2010, the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback was named in a separate sexual assault investigation in Georgia. No charges were filed in that case due to lack of evidence.

Despite the lack of criminal charges, the NFL suspended Roethlisberger for the first six games of the 2010 season for violating the league's personal conduct policy before reducing it to four.