Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed a motion on behalf of Ohio State University to dismiss claims by 77 plaintiffs in cases against the university over sexual abuse by former university doctor Richard Strauss.
The motion, filed Sunday in U.S. District Court, said that any claim in which the alleged sexual abuse happened before Oct. 21, 1986 should be dismissed.
The motion said that the alleged abuse occurred before Congress passed a law waiving sovereign immunity for institutions like Ohio State from federal suits such as the Strauss cases.
The university argues it is immune from the claims before that date.
Strauss survivor Mike DiSabato said in a text that the move is designed to intimidate and re-victimize survivors, and "yet another shameful act by the University's chairman of the Board of Trustees, John Zeiger."
DiSabato pointed out that Zeiger has been the lawyer for New Albany billionaire Les Wexner and also cited Wexner's ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
DiSabato and others have pressed Ohio State to remove Wexner's name from the football complex inside the Woody Hayes Athletics Center and for Zeiger to be removed from the board of trustees.
The motion comes after U.S. District Judge Michael Watson ruled last month that plaintiffs in the cases can recover damages for lost educational opportunities and benefits, lost earnings and earning capacity or treatment for physical injuries.
On May 7, a lawyer said 30 former Buckeye football players were joining a class-action lawsuit against Ohio State University over Strauss' sexual abuse.
The plaintiffs include three members of the 1980 Rose Bowl team: Al Washington, Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson, all of whom played in the NFL. Ellis and Ferguson were team captains at Ohio State.
The players have signed letters to join the class action case.
Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson said in a statement that the university has sincerely and persistently tried to settle with all survivors since 2018.
So far the university has settled cases with more than 300 survivors for more than $61 million.
Strauss worked for the university from 1978-1998. He died by suicide in 2005.
