The Ohio Attorney General’s office has moved to dismiss the claims of 77 plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Ohio State University over sexual abuse by former OSU doctor Richard Strauss, saying they fall outside the allowable timeframe.
In a May 10 filing on behalf of Ohio State, Attorney General Dave Yost said any claims of abuse happening before Oct. 21, 1986, should be thrown out. On that day, Congress passed legislation that allows states to be sued for discrimination, including failure to prevent sexual abuse at colleges and universities.
In the motion, Yost seeks to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims in their entirety if all the alleged abuse happened before that date.
For claims in which plaintiffs allege some of the abuse continued after that date, Yost seeks to dismiss the cases in part.
Those plaintiffs would still be able to move forward with any claims of abuse happening after Oct. 21, 1986.
The motion applies to plaintiffs across three cases against the university. Of the 77 plaintiffs included in the motion, 43 could see their claims dismissed in their entirety.
The motion came less than a week after 30 former Ohio State football players announced they would join a class-action lawsuit against the university. The new group of plaintiffs includes three members of the 1980 Rose Bowl team.
In a previous statement, the university said it had settled with 317 abuse survivors as of April 15 for more than $61 million.
Strauss worked at the university’s athletics department from 1978 to 1998. An independent investigation the university released in 2019 alleged that Strauss had abused at least 177 male student patients.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio AG seeks to dismiss 77 claims in Ohio State sex abuse lawsuit
Reporting by Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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