A Southern California couple has taken The Bay Club to court over an incident they say left their toddler with a traumatic brain injury at the company’s El Segundo childcare space. The case, filed in early July 2026, rests on three claims that appear across multiple news reports: a staff member lifted and released the child from a dangerous height, the boy was hurt when he hit the floor, and the club later described the fall in a way the parents say does not match the security footage.

Matthew and Elena Kittle sued The Bay Clubs Company, LLC and Bay Club South Bay, LLC in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of themselves and their son, identified in filings only as C.K. The boy was 23 months old on March 17, 2025. Their lawyers, including Ryan Saba of Rosen Saba, argue the Clubhouse is marketed as a large, amenity-style play center for members’ children, yet the family says it failed the most basic duty: keep a toddler safe and tell parents the truth when something goes wrong.

What the complaint says happened that morning

According to the lawsuit, Matthew Kittle brought C.K. to the El Segundo Clubhouse around 8:30–8:35 a.m. He expected to collect him about three hours later. In the meantime, he went to Manhattan Country Club, another Bay Club property about a mile away—an arrangement the family says the company allows. The boy was injured around 9:20 a.m.

News outlets that reviewed the footage, including the Los Angeles Times, describe the same sequence alleged in the complaint. C.K. approached a female employee with his hands raised. She lifted him by the hands, swung him between her legs twice, then raised him overhead and let go. The suit puts him about six feet off the ground at that moment. He fell behind her onto a hardwood floor. She then fell backward onto him. The video, parents and reporters say, shows the child crying as she holds him afterward.

How the family says they were notified

Staff called the parents after the fall. The first message, the suit claims, was that C.K. had fallen but had calmed down and did not need to be picked up early. A second call around 9:45 a.m. asked the father to come because workers could not settle the boy. The complaint says that framing made the injury sound minor and even implied the child’s distress was the main problem for staff.

When Kittle arrived, the family says the injuries looked far worse than the phone calls suggested: heavy bruising on the right side of the face, a swollen-shut right eye, and a swollen mouth. At home the toddler was drowsy, lethargic, and irritable. A later club explanation, according to the lawsuit, was that an employee holding him had fallen while squatting and that he had been only about a foot and a half off the ground. The parents say staff also mentioned the boy wanted to sleep right after the fall and that workers had trouble keeping him awake—details that, in a head-injury context, the family treats as warning signs that were not conveyed with enough urgency.

C.K. was taken to a hospital that day. Doctors diagnosed a concussion, blunt head trauma, and facial abrasion. The family later obtained the video—reports say about four days after the incident—and say they were shocked both by the height of the fall and by the gap between that footage and what they had been told. The lawsuit alleges the child still has lingering effects, including hearing loss. Those medical claims remain allegations in a civil case; they have not been tried to a verdict.

Licensing and legal theories

Beyond the fall itself, the Kittles argue the Clubhouse was operating as an unlicensed daycare. California generally requires a Department of Social Services license for childcare centers. Gyms and similar sites sometimes claim an exemption when care is short-term and a parent stays on the same property. The suit says Bay Club does not qualify because members can leave children at El Segundo while they go to Manhattan Country Club. The company has not publicly litigated that point in the news coverage available so far.

The complaint seeks a jury trial and lists negligence; negligence per se; negligent hiring, retention, and supervision; negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress; fraud by concealment; and battery. The family asks for unspecified compensatory damages plus punitive damages, penalties, and fees. They have asked for privacy and have declined interviews. Saba has said a childcare operation owes children the highest duty of care and must tell parents quickly and honestly when a child is hurt.

The club’s public response

Bay Club has not answered the factual allegations in detail. In statements to the Los Angeles Times, Fox News, and other outlets it said it cannot comment on active litigation and that the safety of members, employees, and families is its highest priority. That is the company’s full public position as of the July 2026 coverage.

Where the case stands now

As of late August 2026, publicly reported information still describes an active civil lawsuit filed July 2, 2026. There is no widely reported settlement, dismissal, or trial verdict. The account above is drawn from the complaint and from news organizations that reviewed the video and court papers. None of those sources is a court finding that the club is legally liable.