Though lawyers representing Ohio University in a lawsuit filed by a former faculty member were a day late filing a response, they said it shouldn’t affect the case's outcome.
Though attorneys representing Ohio University in a lawsuit filed by a former faculty member were a day late in filing a response, court documents show those attorneys don’t believe it should affect the outcome of the case.
Counsel for Timothy Scott McKeny, a former assistant professor with OU’s Patton College of Education, has said in court documents that the one-day misstep is grounds to reach a default judgement in a lawsuit filed against the university in December in both the Ohio Court of Claims and federal court after McKeny was denied tenure.
OU’s attorneys called the motion for default judgement “frivolous” in court documents, and further recognized that a one day delay in filing an answer is not sufficient ground for the granting of a default judgement.
The attorneys further stated in court documents that the late filing simply boiled down to a miscalculated date, and was not done intentionally.
McKeny said he was denied tenure due to his sexual orientation and religious beliefs. He asserted that constituted a breach of contract, a violation of contractual due process and discrimination.
The former professor was denied tenure in 2012 by the school’s dean, Renee Middleton. McKeny had been a professor since August 2006. That decision was supported by OU Provost Pam Benoit and OU President Roderick McDavis, according to court documents.
Response to the initial charges was due by Feb. 17, according to court documents; OU’s attorneys instead filed their response on Feb. 18.
Attorneys for McKeny filed for a default decision to be granted Monday, due to OU’s failure to respond to charges and asked the current response to be stricken from the record.
Tuesday, members of the attorney general’s office, who are representing OU, filed their response to McKeny’s request for that decision.
“Plaintiff’s counsel... has filed a frivolous motion for default judgment and motion to strike Defendants’ answer,” OU attorneys said in their response, according to court documents. “Those motions should be denied.”
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