Family of Ohio State student killed in fraternity house shooting files lawsuits
Nearly two years to the day after their son was shot and killed outside a fraternity house party, the family of Ohio State University student Chase Meola has filed wrongful death lawsuits against the fraternity and the university, but not the man accused of the shooting.
Paul and Margaret Meola filed a civil lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Columbus and another civil lawsuit Tuesday in the Ohio Court of Claims as executors of the estate of their late son.
Ohio State student Chase Meola, 23, was killed around 2 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2020 in a shooting outside the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity house, commonly referred to as Phi Psi, on the university’s main campus. Meola, 23, was a fifth-year senior studying marketing. He was originally from New Jersey.
According to the federal lawsuit, Meola was a member of Ohio State’s chapter of Phi Psi, which had been suspended from campus at the time of the shooting. Previous reporting from The Dispatch shows the fraternity was placed on a four-year suspension in 2018. The chapter was also on a twoyear probation for previous violations of the Code of Student Conduct when it was suspended.
The Meolas allege in the Ohio Court of Claims lawsuit that although Phi Kappa Psi was suspended, “OSU knew that suspended fraternities, like and including, Phi Kappa Psi continued to operate and flagrantly violate the law and OSU’S code of conduct.
“Phi Kappa Psi continued to operate like a speakeasy right next to campus, and OSU tacitly accepted its operation through its actions and inactions as set forth herein,” the Court of Claims lawsuit said. “OSU not only failed to address its off-campus criminal environment, but it took proactive steps to suppress police enforcement in the University
District and other off-campus areas.”
Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson said the university will “carefully review” the legal filings.
“The shooting death of Chase Meola was a heartbreaking tragedy, and his family and friends remain in our thoughts,” Johnson said.
Phi Kappa Psi’s suspension officially ended in August, but Johnson said the fraternity chapter has not begun the process to be reinstated.
“When a chapter’s recognition is revoked, they no longer have the rights and privileges afforded to a recognized organization,” Johnson said. “Students remain subject to the Code of Student Conduct and additional violations may lead to individual disciplinary action, extensions to the organizational revocation and/or referrals to law enforcement in alignment with Collin’s Law.”
Collin’s Law is Ohio’s Anti-hazing Law, named for Collin Wiant, an 18year-old student at Ohio University who died in 2018 as a result of hazing involving a fraternity there. Gov. Mike Dewine signed the measure into law in 2021 in a ceremony joined by Wiant’s parents as well as the parents of Stone Foltz, a Bowling Green State University student who died as a result of hazing involving a fraternity there.
The federal lawsuit said the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity chapter at Ohio State, despite the suspension, “continued to hold itself out as an active fraternity, held parties and served alcohol,” which led to the party that was being held the night Meola was killed.
Kintie Mitchell, 18 at the time, and a group of other “uninvited individuals” attended the party, according to the lawsuits, and at some point were asked to leave.
“Chase along with some of his fraternity brothers escorted Kintie Mitchell and others in his group out of the Fraternity house,” the lawsuits said.
Once outside, Mitchell is accused of shooting Meola in the head. Mitchell, who had been released on bond in multiple other cases just days before the shooting, was arrested and charged with murder. His case is currently set to go to trial in December.
Meola’s parents do not name Mitchell as a defendant in either lawsuit.
Both lawsuits seeks damages for wrongful death and negligence, saying Ohio State and the fraternity should have done more to protect Meola and other “young, inexperienced” college students and fraternity members from the potential dangers of living in the University District and other criminal elements.
The Meolas are seeking a minimum of $75,000 in damages from the fraternity and 10 John Does listed in the federal lawsuit, and and at least $25,000 in damages from Ohio State in the Ohio Court of Claims lawsuit
Following Meola’s death, Ohio State implemented a number of security changes as a result of a task force formed in late 2020. Those recommendations included increased off-campus security measures and surveillance. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner shendrix@dispatch.com @sheridan120