Ohio Supreme Court Decides Not to Rule on Question in Mohat Lawsuit

The Ohio Supreme Court has decided that they will not be ruling on a matter of law that pertains to the suit the parents of Eric Mohat filed against .

Eric was a a 17-year-old student who killed himself March 27, 2007. Eric's parents, Janis and William Mohat, filed a lawsuit against Mentor Schools after his death, saying their son killed himself because he was bullied and the school did not do enough to stop it.

The Mohats filed their lawsuit in federal court, but U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent asked the state Supreme Court to rule on

That question is whether a wrongful death suit filed on behalf of a dead person before his or her estate is legally established is barred by the statute of limitations.

The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments from the Mohats' and Mentor Schools' attorneys in February. However, the court has now said they will dismiss Nugent's question without making a ruling.

The court gave no explanation except to say the question was "improvidently accepted," which means the justices now think they should have never agreed to hear the case.

Nugent must now decide if the Mohats' suit should continue.

The legal question first arose because the school's attorneys said that the Mohats could not sue on behalf of an estate that did not exist until after the two-year statute-of-limitations deadline.

The Mohats agreed that Eric's estate was not established until after two years had passed. However, they say their suit is not barred by the statute of limitations.

Janis Mohat was appointed the administrator of Eric's estate in the June of 2009 in Cuyahoga County and three months later in Lake County. Janis Mohat needed to be made administrator in Lake County because Eric lived there when he died.

Mentor Schools also faces a second, similar lawsuit in federal court.

Dragan and Celija Vidovic sued Mentor Schools after their 16-year-old daughter, Sladjana, killed herself in 2008. The Vidovics said the school did not do enough to recognize or stop the bullying that caused Sladjana to kill herself.