Mahwah Parents Sue Over 'Wrongful Death' Of Son At College: Lawsuit

MAHWAH, NJ — Mahwah parents of a Ohio State student and fraternity member who was shot and killed in October 2020 outside the fraternity house are seeking $75,000 in damages for wrongful death, negligence and recklessness, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court.

Paul and Margaret Meola, the parents of Chase Meola, a fifth-year senior at Ohio State, filed the four-count lawsuit alleging that the acts and omissions of the college and its chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity created the "dangerous conditions" that led to Chase's shooting death.

Chase Meola was shot and killed outside the fraternity house on the night of a party at the house; the murder trial of the man accused in the shooting — Kintie Mitchell — is scheduled for December.

Still, the party occurred, the lawsuit said, while the fraternity was placed on a four-year suspension for violating the school's policies on hazing and endangerment.

In fact, the lawsuit alleges, the fraternity continued to hold parties, serve alcohol and otherwise engage in fraternity activities throughout the suspension period, and "repeatedly flouted, ignored and violated" laws and standards of conduct designed to protect students.

The fraternity chapter's continued operation, the lawsuit said, was thereby "formally or informally ratified or accepted" by the National Phi Psi Fraternity.

And it continued with "inadequate safeguards" against crime in and around the fraternity, the lawsuit added, referring to statistics that, the plaintiffs claimed, indicate "increased risks and a level of crime" in and around the area of the fraternity.

As such, the national fraternity, the college and the fraternity chapter, the lawsuit said, "owed a duty" to warn members of dangers associated with the fraternity house and the University District that it is located in, and undertake "reasonable steps" to make the areas safer.

The defendants' negligence is a "proximate and direct cause of Chase Meola's death," the lawsuit said, and the parents are thus "entitled to damages."

Ohio State spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said in a statement that the school would "carefully review" the legal filing.

"The shooting death of Chase Meola was a heartbreaking tragedy, and his family and friends remain in our thoughts," Johnson said.

Phi Psi Executive Director Ronald Ransom said the fraternity does not comment on pending litigation, though Chase's family and friends and the Ohio State community are kept in the association's thoughts and prayers.