The parents allege the El Segundo facility improperly relied on an exemption requiring guardians to remain at the same premises.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — A lawsuit over a toddler’s serious fall at an upscale fitness club is raising a broader legal question about whether the club’s large childcare operation was required to hold a California license.
Matthew and Elena Kittle allege that The Bay Club’s El Segundo Clubhouse was operating unlawfully when their 23-month-old son was injured there on March 17, 2025. Their complaint says the facility could not rely on a licensing exemption because some parents were permitted to leave children in El Segundo while visiting another Bay Club property about a mile away.
The licensing claim is one part of a wider lawsuit filed July 2 against The Bay Clubs Co. LLC and Bay Club South Bay LLC. The parents also allege negligence, negligent hiring and supervision, fraud, emotional distress and battery after an employee allegedly threw their son into the air and failed to catch him.
The Bay Club said it could not comment on ongoing litigation. “At the Bay Club, the safety of our members, team members, and the families we serve is our highest priority,” the company said. The allegations have not been proven, and no court has determined whether the El Segundo program required a state childcare license.
California generally requires childcare centers to be licensed by the state Department of Social Services. State law provides exemptions for certain limited programs, including some arrangements in which a parent or guardian remains on the same premises while a child receives temporary care. License-exempt programs are not regulated by the department in the same way as licensed childcare facilities.
The Kittles contend that The Bay Club’s operation did not satisfy the same-premises condition. According to the complaint, Matthew Kittle left C.K. at the El Segundo Clubhouse and told employees he would be at the Bay Club Manhattan Country Club for about three hours. That club is a separate property about a mile away, the filing says.
The Bay Club’s website describes the El Segundo Clubhouse as a 14,000-square-foot childcare center where children take part in supervised activities. The website also says a parent or guardian must remain on-site during a reservation. The lawsuit alleges that the club’s actual practices allowed some members to use the Manhattan Country Club while their children remained at the El Segundo facility.
Whether the properties legally count as the same premises, and whether the program met all other conditions for an exemption, are matters the court could be asked to consider. The lawsuit does not include a reported determination from the Department of Social Services finding that the facility was unlicensed or operating illegally.
The underlying injury occurred at about 9:20 a.m., according to the complaint. Security video cited in the suit appears to show an employee swinging C.K. by his hands before lifting him over her head and failing to catch him. The child fell onto a hardwood floor, and the employee then fell backward, according to the filing.
Club employees initially told the parents that the child had fallen from about 1.5 feet while being held by a worker who lost her balance in a squatting position, the lawsuit says. The parents allege that video they received four days later showed C.K. had been about 6 feet above the floor.
The child was taken to an emergency room in Torrance and diagnosed with a concussion, blunt head trauma and a facial abrasion, according to the complaint. The suit says he later experienced sensitivity to light and sound, changes in sleep and behavior, lethargy and hearing loss. Those descriptions reflect the family’s allegations and medical information summarized in its court filing.
Licensed childcare centers in California are subject to state requirements covering such areas as staffing, supervision, health and safety. An exemption can affect which agency oversees a program and which regulatory protections apply. The lawsuit argues that the alleged lack of a license is relevant to the club’s duty of care and its management of the employees supervising children.
The complaint seeks a jury trial, punitive and exemplary damages, civil penalties and other relief. The amount of any damages would be decided through litigation or a settlement. The publicly available reports do not indicate that a trial date has been set.
The case remains pending. The Bay Club has not publicly detailed the legal basis for the El Segundo program’s licensing status or said whether its childcare procedures changed after the incident.
Author note: Last updated July 12, 2026.