Wrongful death lawsuit against Miami University dismissed in county court, heads to state court

On Friday, June 16, Adriene Knight’s lawyer Angela Wallace dismissed the wrongful death lawsuit against Miami University in Butler County Court. The first hearing was due to take place at the Butler County Court of Common Pleas on Tuesday, June 20, at 10 a.m.

Though dismissed in Butler County, Knight is still seeking damages in the amount of at least $125,000. According to Wallace, the lawsuit is not dismissed, and this was a procedural step allowing Knight to pursue the case in the Ohio Court of Claims. She said that case will seek to determine “whether the individual employees were acting within the scope of their employment.”

“The Butler County filing was really just done to protect our claims against the individual employees,” Wallace said. “The primary suit is in the court of claims and always has been.”

In an email to The Miami Student, Alecia Lipton, associate director of media relations at Miami, said the university affirmed its intention to defend the lawsuit.

“We believe the lawsuit filed against the university regarding the death of Dr. Knight was unjustified, and we were successful in seeking dismissal of our employees (Lindsey Carpenter, Ruth Groom and Jason Osborne) and the Board of Trustees from both the suit in the Court of Common Pleas in Butler County and in the Court of Claims,” Lipton wrote. “At this point, the only pending litigation is against the University in the Court of Claims, which we will continue to defend.”

ankenedw@miamioh.edu