A Nevada judge has ruled that a woman who has accused Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault can continue with her civil lawsuit against seven Harrah's Lake Tahoe employees who, she said, covered for the Steelers quarterback.

A 31-year-old employee of Harrah's filed a civil suit in July accusing Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her while he was staying at the hotel for a July 2008 charity golf event. Roethlisberger has denied the accusation.

The Post-Gazette does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

The woman also is suing eight current or former Harrah's employees, she said, for protecting Roethlisberger, a high-profile guest of the hotel, in the aftermath.

Lawyers for all the defendants, including Roethlisberger, responded with motions requesting that the case be dismissed. Last month, District 6 Judge Brent Adams in Reno denied those requests from Roethlisberger and former Harrah's employee Stacy Dingman, who has hired a separate attorney.

In a Wednesday ruling made public yesterday, the judge similarly denied the dismissal request from the other seven Harrah's employees, advancing the defendants toward a possible court date.

Neither Margo Piscevich, the Reno attorney representing John Koster, Guy Hyder, Mark Masters, Dave Monroe, Mike Rosenow, Debbie Neall and Bryan Casuscelli, nor Calvin R.X. Dunlap, the attorney for the plaintiff, could be reached for comment.

In a related development, John Echeverria, a Reno attorney working with Roethlisberger's defense team, has filed a motion for sanctions against Dunlap, charging that he should have known better than to pursue the case.

"Had plaintiff's counsel performed the type and quality of investigation that [the law] demands, this lawsuit would have never been filed," Echeverria said. "In contrast to this house of lies, slapped together with two sticks and duct tape, Mr. Roethlisberger is armed with the truth."

Echeverria's filing also reiterates the request to dismiss the case against Roethlisberger.

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