A trial against Miami University in the case of a wrongful death lawsuit is set to take place Oct. 6-10, 2025 in Columbus.
Adriene Knight, the widow of William Knight, former assistant provost of the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness who died by suicide in 2021, first brought forth the suit in April 2023, and it has since been dismissed from the Butler County Court of Common Pleas before moving to Ohio’s Court of Claims. In August, Judge Dale Crawford with the Ohio Court of Claims granted Miami a partial motion to dismiss the claim of civil conspiracy which was one of four claims Knight brought against those involved.
Along with civil conspiracy, Knight filed claims for wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress for the death of her husband, William Knight.
In addition to the suit against Miami, she originally filed the lawsuit against the Board of Trustees, Associate Vice President for Budget and Analytics Lindsay Carpenter, Associate Vice President for Academic Personnel Ruth Groom and former Provost Jason Osborne. These suits were dismissed in June.
Following the dismissal of the lawsuit against Miami and the multiple individuals, Alicia Lipton, associate director of media relations, wrote in an email to The Miami Student that Miami will continue to defend itself in claims court.
“We believe the lawsuit filed against the university regarding the death of Dr. Knight was unjustified,” Lipton wrote, “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. At this point, the only pending litigation is against the University in the Court of Claims, which we will continue to defend. “
According to the court, its purpose is “to hear claims against the state for money damages and to hear appeals from Attorney General decisions regarding claims filed under the Victims of Crime Compensation Program.”
Knight’s lawyer Angela Wallace did not respond to a request for comment.
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