Judge Michael Watson dismissed all active lawsuits against Ohio State over its failure to address and prevent decades of sexual abuse by former university physician Richard Strauss. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Lantern File Photo

A federal judge dismissed all active lawsuits against Ohio State over its failure to address and prevent decades of sexual abuse by former university physician Richard Strauss.

In a court ruling Wednesday, Judge Michael Watson granted the university’s motion to dismiss on the grounds that the statute of limitations has passed for victims to file a lawsuit. The statute of limitations for civil lawsuits in sexual assault cases is two years and, Watson said in the ruling, expired two years after each victim left the university.

“Plaintiffs beseech this Court to hold Ohio State accountable, but today, the legal system also fails Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs’ pain and suffering is neither questioned nor overlooked by this Court; indeed, their claims cry out for a remedy,” Watson said.

Watson also rejected plaintiffs’ counterclaims that because many of the men did not realize what Strauss did to them was abuse, the statute of limitations should start from the moment they realized — which for many of them, according to court documents, wasn’t until other Strauss victims came forward in 2018.

Steve Snyder-Hill, a lead plaintiff in one of the lawsuits and outspoken survivor of Strauss’ abuse, said in a statement he was angered by the decision.

“A judge just threw 300+ sexual assault survivors into a big trash can with a huge OSU logo on it,” Snyder-Hill said. “If you root for OSU then you have to root for everything they stand for.”

Lawyers representing more than 120 victims called Watson’s decision “deeply disturbing” in a statement and declared their intent to appeal the decision to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

“OSU spent decades denying, hiding, and evading the truth about its role in concealing the abuse that happened on its watch,” the statement reads. “Today’s ruling punishes survivors already traumatized by the university’s callous campaign of deception. The court’s decision cannot, and must not, be the final word in the survivors’ journey towards justice.”

Watson said the state legislature’s failure to pass legislation granting Strauss victims an exemption to the statute of limitations requires him to dismiss the cases. House Bill 249, which would have waived the statute of limitations, was introduced into the Ohio House of Representatives in 2019, but stalled out of committee.

With the decision — and lack of legislation — comes a distinct turn from recent cases of sexual abuse at other universities. The Michigan legislature waived the statute of limitations for hundreds of victims of former Michigan State physician Larry Nassar, and in 2018 the university settled with 332 victims for $425 million. 

In 2019, California passed similar legislation to allow victims of former University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall to sue the university. The university settled with more than 17,000 former patients for $1.1 billion in 2021.

Ohio State filed motions to dismiss every lawsuit filed by Strauss victims.

The decision comes less than a week after some victims formally requested Watson’s recusal from the cases for failing to disclose his wife’s licensing agreement with the university to sell Ohio State flags at her store, The Flag Lady’s Flag Store in Clintonville, Ohio.

Steve Estey, an attorney representing about 100 Strauss victims, said many feel the university betrayed them. He said the ruling was surprising because parties were initially told there would be an oral argument on the dismissal motion in court, and the motion for recusal of the judge was still pending.

“It’s an absolute betrayal, and if that’s the way Ohio State treats its students, I can tell you, I’m a dad, I’ve got two kids in college sports, I wouldn’t let them go anywhere near a university like that,” Estey said. 

Strauss was a team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the Student Health Center from 1978-1998. An independent investigation concluded that during that time, Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students and student-athletes and that university officials were aware of the abuse and failed to prevent it.

Strauss died by suicide in 2005.

Since 2018, more than 350 men have joined lawsuits against the university for failing to prevent Strauss’ sexual abuse. University spokesperson Ben Johnson said in a statement the university has settled with more than 230 victims, including those who joined the university’s Strauss Individual Settlement Program. 

In 2020, the university settled with 186 victims for $46.7 million.

Johnson said the university has “sought to uncover and acknowledge the truth” about Strauss’ abuse since 2018.

“We are forever grateful to the survivors who participated in the independent Perkins Coie investigation, which could not have been completed without their strength and courage, and we offer our deepest regrets and apologies to all who experienced Strauss’s abuse,” Johnson said.

Jessica Langer contributed reporting.

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This story was updated at 8:09 p.m. to include comments from Snyder-Hill and Estey.