IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

STEVE SNYDER-HILL, et al., 

Plaintiffs, 

v. 

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, 

Defendant. 

 Case No. 2:18-cv-00736-MHW-EPD 

 Judge Michael H. Watson 

 Chief Magistrate Judge Elizabeth P. Deavers 

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR ORAL ARGUMENT 

Pursuant to United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Local Rule 

7.1(b)(2), Plaintiffs hereby request an order permitting oral argument on Defendant The Ohio 

State University’s (“OSU”) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint (the 

“Motion to Dismiss” (Dkt. 128)). The grounds in support of this Motion are more fully set forth 

in the accompanying Memorandum in Support. Pursuant to S.D. Ohio Civ. R. 7.3, Plaintiffs 

consulted with Defendant regarding this request and its position is:“Ohio State believes the 

issues are straightforward and not complex and do not require oral argument under Local Rule 

7.1(b)(2), but will respectfully defer to the Court’s wishes.” 

August 7, 2020 EMERY CELLI BRINCKERHOFF ABADY 

WARD & MAAZEL LLP 

By: /s/ Ilann M. Maazel 

Ilann M. Maazel (admitted pro hac vice) 

Debra L. Greenberger (admitted pro hac vice) 

Marissa Benavides (admitted pro hac vice) 

600 Fifth Avenue, 10th Floor 

New York, New York 10020 

Phone: (212) 763-5000 

Fax: (212) 763-5001 

E-Mail: imaazel@ecbawm.com 

E-Mail: dgreenberger@ecbawm.com 

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E-Mail: mbenavides@ecbawm.com 

SCOTT ELLIOTT SMITH, LPA 

Scott E. Smith (0003749) 

Michael L. Dillard, Jr. (0083907) 

5003 Horizons Drive, Suite 100 

Columbus, Ohio 43220 

Phone: (614) 846-1700 

Fax: (614) 486-4987 

E-Mail:ses@sestraillaw.com 

E-Mail: mld@sestriallaw.com 

PUBLIC JUSTICE, P.C. 

Adele P. Kimmel (admitted pro hac vice) 

Alexandra Brodsky (admitted pro hac vice) 

 1620 L Street, NW, Suite 630 

Washington, DC 20036 

Phone: (202) 797-8600 

Fax: (202) 232-7203 

E-mail: akimmel@publicjustice.net 

E-mail: abrodsky@publicjustice.net 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT 

Local Rule 7.01(b)(2) provides that “...if oral argument is deemed to be essential to the 

fair resolution of the case because of its public importance or the complexity of the factual or 

legal issues presented, counsel or a pro se party may apply to the Court for oral argument....” 

Here, there is ample reason to grant Plaintiffs’ request. 

This case presents issues that are of great public importance. OSU is one of the largest 

public universities in the country. It receives and uses millions of dollars in public funds. 

OSU’s legal responsibility for enabling Dr. Strauss’s sexual abuse of hundreds of former OSU 

students and survivors over the span of two decades is of public import. 

The Motion to Dismiss involves the factual allegations of 93 individual Plaintiffs who are 

among the hundreds of former OSU students and survivors whom Dr. Strauss sexually assaulted 

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and abused. Their allegations are embodied in a 371-page Second Amended Complaint with 

2,597 paragraphs. The legal issues present the applicability of the federal accrual rule, state law 

tolling rules, and standing under Title IX. Plaintiffs have two separate bases, each supported by 

different caselaw, as to why their claims did not accrue until 2018 at the earliest, and a third basis 

for timeliness, namely equitable tolling. Additionally, Plaintiffs’ opposition rebuts OSU’s claims 

that four Plaintiffs lack standing. Indeed, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ request to file an 

oversized brief after Plaintiff detailed the factual and legal issues presented by the case. See Dkt. 

132. 

In light of the great public interest and the numerous legal and factual issues, we request 

oral argument to respond to any queries the Court has. 

 Respectfully submitted, 

 

August 7, 2020 EMERY CELLI BRINCKERHOFF ABADY 

WARD & MAAZEL LLP 

By: /s/ Ilann M. Maazel 

Ilann M. Maazel (admitted pro hac vice) 

Debra L. Greenberger (admitted pro hac vice) 

Marissa Benavides (admitted pro hac vice) 

600 Fifth Avenue, 10th Floor 

New York, New York 10020 

Phone: (212) 763-5000 

Fax: (212) 763-5001 

E-Mail: imaazel@ecbawm.com 

E-Mail: dgreenberger@ecbawm.com 

E-Mail: mbenavides@ecbawm.com 

SCOTT ELLIOTT SMITH, LPA 

Scott E. Smith (0003749) 

Michael L. Dillard, Jr. (0083907) 

5003 Horizons Drive, Suite 100 

Columbus, Ohio 43220 

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Phone: (614) 846-1700 

Fax: (614) 486-4987 

E-Mail:ses@sestraillaw.com 

E-Mail: mld@sestriallaw.com 

PUBLIC JUSTICE, P.C. 

Adele P. Kimmel (admitted pro hac vice) 

Alexandra Brodsky (admitted pro hac vice) 

 1620 L Street, NW, Suite 630 

Washington, DC 20036 

Phone: (202) 797-8600 

Fax: (202) 232-7203 

E-mail: akimmel@publicjustice.net 

E-mail: abrodsky@publicjustice.net 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

It is hereby certified that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was 

filed and served, via the Court’s CM/ECF system on August 7, 2020, on all counsel of record. 

 By: /s/_Ilann M. Maazel 

 Ilann M. Maazel

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