(the university's attorney) felt it was unlikely the state would be willing to settle the case
Miller said, adding the state circulated his settlement offer at the university. Ohio University isn't likely to settle a negligence lawsuit brought by a former student after he fell into a campfire on a school-sponsored trip, his attorney said Monday.
Christopher Mance, 25, of South Easton, Mass., and his parents sued the university in May. In a recent court filing, Mance asked for nearly $3.2 million in lost income, medical expenses and emotional damage.
Mance's attorney, Robert Miller of Columbus law firm Rourke and Blumenthal, said Monday that it appears the university will not settle the case.
As I interpret it (the university's attorney) felt it was unlikely the state would be willing to settle the case
Miller said, adding the state circulated his settlement offer at the university.
Miller and Randall Knutti, an assistant attorney general, met with a judge Friday. Knutti made a motion Thursday to convert a planned mediation into a settlement conference, a standard move. The Court of Claims of Ohio, where Mance filed his lawsuit, automatically schedules mediation hearings.
The conversion of the mediation into a settlement conference does not mean the state wants to settle, Miller said. A spokeswoman for the Ohio Attorney General did not return a message Friday and could not immediately be reached Monday morning.
Without a settlement, Miller said he will prepare to take depositions - sworn statements of the facts taken by an attorney - from university employees involved in the case. The case will go to trial before Judge J. Craig Wright on Sept. 14.
The case will hinge on whether the university was negligent when it allowed Mance, who suffered from epileptic seizures, to attend a weekend camping trip required by his wilderness survival class. Expert witnesses for the defense say yes, arguing that the university didn't properly review Mance's medical form, according to court filings.
While tending his campfire overnight, Mance had a seizure and fell face-first into the flames, severely burning his face, according to court filings. The resulting burns required multiple surgeries and skin grafts.
View case documents on the Court of Claims of Ohio's Web site.
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Dave Hendricks
