Protecting Ohio’s Statute of Limitations

A group of Ohio business and professional associations, including the OMA, testified this week through the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice before a House committee, urging the legislature to protect Ohio’s statute of limitations.

At issue was HB 249, which would give victims of sexual misconduct that occurred during a specified period by a physician employed by a land grant university a right of action against the school. The bill was introduced as a result of the case against former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss.

The Alliance said: “Statutes of limitation play an important role in any legal system because they create certainty, discourage unnecessary delays, and protect the integrity of the judiciary by setting the outer most limit of time for a valid legal claim to be filed.”

The Alliance said it “opposes reviving claims already barred by the applicable statute of limitation because it will create disorder in Ohio’s business and legal climates. For Ohio’s courts, the decision to revive certain claims will call into question what other types of claims could be revived in the future. This slippery slope is harmful to the legal climate by eroding at the predictability and finality of a judge’s order.” 9/12/2019