YOUNGSTOWN - Mounting civil lawsuits are raising new questions about the future of Ursuline High School and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, as attorneys warn the hazing and assault allegations could carry serious legal, financial and reputational consequences for the institution.

The federal civil suits center on allegations of hazing and sexual assault within Ursuline’s football program, involving coaches, administrators and students.

Attorney Gregory Vincent, who practices nonprofit and education law in Columbus, said the scope and detail of the complaint make this case stand out.

“One of the important facts about this case is how detailed it is, and so obviously you still have to prove your case, but it’s clear that not only is there detail, but also the timeframe,” Vincent said. “So this is not a one-off issue. This goes back multiple years, multiple complainants, and so that is a very serious issue for the diocese and for Ursuline High School.”

Vincent said the diocese and school are now fighting a battle on multiple fronts.

“The issue is, how do you play both offense and defense, right?” he added, “On the offensive side, how do you get in front of this story? And what I would always advise my clients is to be truthful, to be proactive in your responses, because it’s hard to unravel the public relations, the crisis management, from the legal issues, so you have to attack all of those at once.”

He noted that the case involves lengthy filings and video evidence, and said the first step for the institution is to fully understand the facts and respond decisively if the allegations are proven true in court. 

“The first thing is to mount a vigorous defense around what exactly happened, and if something did happen, I think this is where the offense comes in,” Vincent said, “Take proactive measures to mitigate the damages. So if there are responsible adults involved, if there are students, you have to take very strong actions to ensure that you’re responding to these issues. If there is evidence that you address those issues as quickly as possible.”

From there, Vincent said, the question becomes how much liability a court ultimately finds and how the school and diocese would pay for it.

“It has everything to do with the underlying liability of the case,” he said, “If there’s a significant judgment, and let’s play the facts out... of multiple years, multiple plaintiffs, responsible adults, administrators, coaches, not responding... [If] they knew or should have known this was going on and did not, and God forbid [if] they even participated or encouraged it, that would balloon a kind of judgment that could bankrupt the diocese and the schools. So that’s certainly a possibility.”

Vincent emphasized that Ursuline administrators and the diocese are “innocent until proven guilty” and that the case is civil, not criminal.

“If these allegations are proven to be true in the court, I can easily see a significant judgment against the diocese and the school where that would put them in severe financial jeopardy," he said.

Liability insurance could also play a key role in how any damages are handled, but Vincent said it may not solve everything.

“Insurance is there to help you manage the financial consequences of a lawsuit," he said, "The question is, is it enough?"

He said any long-term solution will have to combine legal strategy with policy changes and clear communication about how the school is addressing hazing and abuse.

“As Ursuline and the diocese think about these issues, and that’s the other thing, the relationship between the diocese and the school...So are they kind of locked at the hip, or are they going to diverge? That’s going to be an important issue as well,” Vincent said, “I do think that there is a path forward, but Ursuline is going to have to really reckon with their internal community."

Ultimately, Vincent said, the school’s future will depend as much on public trust as it does on court rulings.

“I think they have to win the public relations battle that’s certainly there,” he said, “They have to hold the responsible people accountable for this, and they have to ensure and prove and gain the trust of the community that this will not happen again.”

According to data compiled by Penn State Dickinson Law, 42 Catholic religious organizations in the United States have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in connection with abuse-related claims since 2004.

But experts said smaller institutions do not often reach the point where bankruptcy becomes the chosen path.

Chicago-based attorney Nicholas Wainwright, who represents abuse survivors in similar cases, agreed that Ursuline faces serious issues to resolve, but said he does not see signs that bankruptcy is likely in the near term.

Wainwright said diocesan bankruptcy cases often involve long histories of abuse claims and very large numbers of plaintiffs.

“There’s no indicator that they would have any reason to be filing bankruptcy for right now, that’s all speculative," he said. 

He said that in many diocesan bankruptcy cases, the numbers are far larger than what is currently alleged in Youngstown.

“In many of these cases where dioceses have filed bankruptcy, you’re looking at numbers in the thousands of people who have filed suits against them,” Wainwright said, “In this instance, it doesn’t look like the numerosity is going to rise to that sort of level.”

Even without bankruptcy, however, the financial exposure could be significant.

Wainwright explained that Ohio law generally caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, but those caps can sometimes be challenged in certain cases.

“In Ohio, there is a damages cap, generally for non-economic damages, which is $250,000 or three times your economic damages, capped at $350,000. The exception to that is if you have permanent and substantial physical injury,” he said, describing one high-profile case where the Ohio Supreme Court found the cap unconstitutional as applied to a survivor’s circumstances. “There are circumstances where that dollar number could change pretty substantially.”

He noted that the Ursuline complaint is lengthy and complex.

“These cases are, you know, 290, page complaint, 30-some counts. And for good reason, if you look at the allegations there. I mean, they really did their homework in their research, and made sure to plead with a decent amount of specificity,” Wainwright said, “With that many claims, it could go in a bunch of different directions. It’s really hard to say what that’s going to look like right now.”

Wainwright said there could be early discussions about resolution in cases like this, but also expects the school, its insurers and attorneys to examine the complaint closely and consider motions to narrow or dismiss certain claims.

“In some cases, there may be discussions about resolution very early on,” he said. “Inversely, though, the school, their insurance companies, whoever is going to be footing the bill, is going to take a deep look at this and say, 'You know, what is a realistic resolution? Are there motions that need to be filed? Is there anything in the complaint that appears to be way out of the ordinary that we can get rid of and get ahead of?'”

Looking ahead, Wainwright said he believes Ursuline can continue operating, but only if it confronts the allegations and changes its alleged culture.

“I think Ursuline High School is likely to continue to function, and I don’t think that bankruptcy is on the horizon either, from the outside looking in, but I do believe that Ursuline High School clearly has substantial things that they have to sort out. If not, it is going to be financially impossible for them to operate,” he said, “The days of saying things like, 'Boys will be boys' are done, and it’s important that they appropriately train their staff.”

Both attorneys stressed that the allegations are not yet proven in court, and that the diocese and Ursuline remain innocent until a judge or jury decides otherwise, but also agreed that the outcome of the litigation, and how the school and diocese choose to respond, could shape Ursuline’s future for years to come.