The counsel in the Jane Doe civil complaint against Ursuline High School, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, several school administrators, football coaches, football players, and their parents is asking the U.S. Federal Court in Youngstown to supplement their filing due to new information and a new alleged witness.

According to the court filing, the plaintiffs' counsel, the Chandra Law Firm in Cleveland, requests that the court address matters at the upcoming case management conference on Wednesday.

The case was filed in September after an alleged hazing incident that occurred in June during a multi-state football team trip involving Ursuline students and coaches.

The counsel is asking to "freely amend the complaint" based on new allegations coming to light, including an Ursuline employee who, according to the filing, alleges that a 2023 hazing video was shown to school administrators and officials, but claims they "failed to investigate, failed to report the matter to children services and law enforcement, failed to issue discipline and failed to address and rectify the matter."

Attorneys contend that, given the rapid pace of new information, the plaintiffs may need until March 27 to amend the complaint.

Another plaintiff's concern is the fact that the employee sharing alleged information regarding a 2023 hazing video concern still works for the school, acting as an alleged whistleblower and whether the defendant's counsel would jointly represent the employee despite a conflict of interest from his employer.

The plaintiff's counsel is seeking guidance from the court as to whether they may directly contact said whistleblower "without interference."

RELATED STORIES