Protesters advocate for Strauss victims outside The ‘Shoe before the Ohio State – Michigan game on Nov. 26, 2022. Credit: Christian Harsa | Lantern File Photo
The Ohio Attorney General’s office has sent a motion to dismiss the claims of over 80 plaintiffs of the Dr. Richard Strauss sexual abuse lawsuit, arguing they fall outside an allowable timeframe.
In a May 10 filing on behalf of Ohio State, Attorney General Dave Yost said any claims of abuse that happened before Oct. 21, 1986, should be thrown out. According to the filing, on that day, Congress passed legislation that allows states to be sued for discrimination, including the failure to prevent sexual abuse at colleges and universities.?
The motion seeks to dismiss all claims from five plaintiffs who claimed abuse occurred entirely before Oct. 21, 1986. A second motion aims to fully or partially dismiss claims from an additional 77 plaintiffs whose alleged abuse occurred wholly or partly before the cutoff date.?
Plaintiffs in the second motion would still be able to move forward with any claims of abuse happening after Oct. 21, 1986.?
Of the 77 plaintiffs at risk of having their claims thrown out, 43 could see their claims dismissed entirely, according to the motion.?
This motion comes less than a week after 30 former Ohio State football players, including team captains and NFL veterans, announced they were joining the lawsuit, per prior Lantern reporting.??
As an athletic team doctor for men’s sports and a physician at the Student Health Center, Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male students from 1978-98, with university officials aware of the abuse as early as 1979.?
Strauss retired in 1998 and later died by suicide in 2005. Since 2018, over 500 survivors have filed lawsuits against Ohio State for its lack of response to Strauss’ abuse.?
“Ohio State has sincerely and persistently tried to settle with all survivors since 2018, and the university has reached settlement agreements with a majority of survivors,” Ben Johnson, Ohio State spokesperson, said in an email.
Ohio State has settled with 317 survivors, with 209 remaining, per prior Lantern reporting.
