Ohio Supreme Court Will Hear Arguments for Lawsuit Against Mentor High School Wednesday

The Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments pertaining to the Eric Mohat lawsuit Wednesday.

Eric Mohat was a a 17-year-old Mentor High School student who killed himself March 27, 2007. Eric's parents, Janis and William Mohat, filed a lawsuit against Mentor Schools after his death.

In the suit, the Mohats said that Eric killed himself because he was bullied and harassed at school, and school employees who knew about the bullying did not do enough to stop it.

The suit was filed in federal court, and the Ohio Supreme Court will not hear arguments about the whole suit. Instead, the state court will focus on one specific legal question.

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.

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.

The school's attorneys say that the Mohats cannot sue on behalf of an estate that did not exist until after the 2-year statute-of-limitations deadline.

The Mohats agree 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.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent said it is unclear which side is right and asked the justices of the Ohio Supreme Court to rule on this matter.

The justices will hear 15 minutes of argument from both sides Wednesday, but they will likely not make a decision for months.

If the justices rule in favor the school, the suit may be dismissed. If they side with the parents, it will continue.

Mentor Schools also faces another 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.