Sauder Schelkopf and co-counsel, who represent former students and student-athletes suing Ohio State University over its handling of sexual misconduct by former team doctor Richard Strauss, have asked a federal judge to help them serve a subpoena on Ohio billionaire Leslie Wexner.
Wexner, the founder of L Brands and a major Ohio State donor, served on the university’s board of trustees during the years when Strauss worked at OSU. In a motion filed this week, plaintiffs’ attorneys said they have spent months trying to deliver a subpoena seeking documents and testimony from Wexner, but have been repeatedly turned away by his security team and unsuccessful even with the assistance of sheriff’s deputies.
NBC News: Ohio State abuse victims’ lawyers unsuccessfully try to subpoena businessman Leslie Wexner
Wexner is not accused of wrongdoing in the lawsuit, and his attorney has said the billionaire has no information relevant to the case. According to the filing, Wexner’s lawyer has refused to accept or forward the subpoena and disputes that his client has any discoverable information.
The motion states that process servers tried to reach Wexner at his residence and even attended an OSU board meeting in September, only to learn he no longer attends. After two failed attempts by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the lawyers are now asking Judge Watson to allow alternative service, such as leaving the subpoena with Wexner’s security staff, mailing it to his home, or sending it electronically to his attorney.
In their filing, the plaintiffs argue that Wexner’s position on the board in the 1990s, including during Strauss’s disciplinary process and eventual contract nonrenewal, makes it difficult to believe he would have no relevant information.
The motion comes as Ohio State fights sex abuse survivors over Strauss, who abused hundreds of students from the mid-1970s through the 1990s. A 2019 independent investigation found the university failed for decades to stop Strauss, who died in 2005. OSU has already paid more than $60 million in settlements to nearly 300 survivors and publicly apologized.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs have recently deposed several figures connected to the era, including Rep. Jim Jordan, a former OSU wrestling coach, and former athletic director Andy Geiger.
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