YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – A federal judge partially granted the plaintiffs’ request for a default judgment and extension of time to serve several defendants in a civil case involving Ursuline High School and dozens of individual defendants.
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The original lawsuit against Ursuline was filed in September by a mother and her children using the pseudonym “Doe” against administrators, coaches and some members of the high school football team and their parents, alleging they were bullied and sexually abused during a summer football team trip in June.
More plaintiffs, John and Jill Roe, and their son were later added and claimed Roe was bullied and threatened during a 2024 trip to a football camp, a year before the Doe family detailed the alleged assault in its initial filing.
Earlier this month, the plaintiffs filed a motion for default judgment against 17 defendants, saying they failed to plead or respond within the required time.
Judge Benita Pearson on Monday granted absenteeism to 13 defendants who failed to respond within the time limit, but denied motions from other defendants who, the court noted, responded within the time limit or sought leave to plead in ways that did not comply with the rules.
The judge noted that the motion for default judgment will be stayed pending resolution of the remaining defendants’ cases, at which time a damages hearing may be held.
Meanwhile, a judge granted a motion to remove three defendants from the case as they reached settlement agreements with the plaintiffs.
The judge also granted a motion to deny the defendants’ motion for judgment on the complaint, saying the documents submitted by the defendants violated page limit rules.
Parish defendants may not file a motion to substitute until further order of the court.
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