State court dismisses claim in wrongful death lawsuit against Miami University

A judge has granted a partial motion to dismiss in the wrongful death lawsuit brought forth by Adriene Knight, the widow of a Miami University assistant provost.

On Aug. 2, Judge Dale Crawford granted Miami a partial motion to dismiss the claim of civil conspiracy, one of the four claims brought forth by Knight against the university. In April, Knight filed claims for wrongful death, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress for the death of her husband, William Knight.

In its filing to dismiss the claim of civil conspiracy, the university argued the “State cannot conspire with itself nor can it conspire with its agents who are acting in their official capacity.”

The Ohio Supreme Court defines civil conspiracy as two or more people working together maliciously to injure another person or property, resulting in damages one person alone could not commit. However, to sue for civil conspiracy in Ohio, there must be proof by the party that there was an intended malicious combination of two or more people, evidence of injury to another person, and the existence of an unlawful act independent of the conspiracy itself.

In her original complaint filed in April, Knight wrote, “At all times relevant to this Complaint, Defendants were acting within the scope of their employment.” This was further confirmed by the university's partial motion to dismiss filed in May. Because both parties agreed that the individuals were acting within the scope of their employment, Crawford ruled that there was not enough proof to sustain a civil conspiracy claim.

The judge added in his decision that during the litigation if evidence arises that proves the individuals did act outside the scope of their employment, the court would grant Knight time to file a new civil conspiracy claim.

The case, originally filed in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, was dismissed by Knight’s lawyer, Angela Wallace, on June 16 so it could be pursued in the Ohio Court of Claims.

The original lawsuit was filed against Lindsey Carpenter, associate vice president for Budget and Analytics; Ruth Groom, associate vice president for Academic Personnel; Jason Osborne, former provost; and the Board of Trustees, but those cases were also dismissed.

In an email to The Miami Student, Alecia Lipton, associate director of media relations, said the university will continue to fight the three other claims.

“Dr. William (Bill) Knight was a valued colleague and member of the Miami community. His family and friends remain in our thoughts as they grieve, ask questions, and seek peace,” Lipton wrote. “... At this point, the only pending litigation is against the University in the Court of Claims, which we will continue to defend.”

Knight’s three other claims are pending due to a related administrative proceeding filed with the state Bureau of Worker’s Compensation.

Wallace did not respond to requests for comment.