The estate of Stone Foltz has filed a complaint against Bowling Green State University in the sophomore’s 2020 off-campus hazing death.

Shari and Cory Foltz are seeking $25,000 on two claims and “substantially more at trial to reflect the value of the loss of this young life,” according to the complaint, which was filed Wednesday in the Ohio Court of Claims.

“BGSU is responsible for Stone Foltz’s death,” the complaint stated. “For years, BGSU turned a blind eye to hazing within the Greek organizations on its campus while encouraging students like Stone to join its fraternities and sororities.”

The two counts are for violating Ohio’s anti-hazing statute and for wrongful death.

A BGSU spokesman said the lawsuit is meritless.

“Stone Foltz’s death was a tragedy, and what his family has endured is unimaginable,” said Alex Solis, deputy chief of staff and university spokesperson. “However, this lawsuit is meritless and undermines our continued efforts to eradicate hazing. We are resolved in our legal position, and as a state-supported university, we will defend our community vigorously against this action. This will not deter our goal to continue to foster a community of care that serves our students and their families.”

Foltz died in March 2021, three days after a Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) party on North Main Street, after consuming a bottle of bourbon and falling into a coma.

In the complaint, the Foltzes blame BGSU for their son’s wrongful death, pain and suffering, along with the family’s loss and mental anguish.

Named specifically in the complaint are BGSU President Rodney Rogers, Dean of Students Christopher Bullins, Associate Dean of Students Jeremy Zilmer and/or Associate Director of Student Engagement (formerly Assistant Dean of Students) Stacey Allan.

The complaint said that BGSU had known of the Pike’s traditional Big/Little event, where pledges consume a bottle of alcohol, since 2019.

The university failed to adequately discipline and supervise fraternity members in the years leading to Foltz’s death, the complaint said.

“BGSU breached its duties to their students when they failed to curtail ongoing dangerous activities, including but not limited to excessive alcohol consumption and hazing,” the complaint stated. “BGSU had a duty to protect its students from foreseeable harm, warn its students of foreseeable harm, and to properly implement and enforce policies and procedures to prevent hazing.”

The complaint accused BGSU officials of not being proactive.

“Bowling Green receives millions in fraternity alumni donations and receives additional income from Greek Village housing which perhaps explains why Bowling Green acts only after the hazing has already occurred. This case will be the model for requiring every university to institute far more proactive measures to stop hazing on college campuses,” according to the complaint.

BGSU officials did not accurately disclose all risks and incidents involving Pike hazing, providing only “promotional, misleading materials,” the complaint said.

It also details numerous Pike incidents, which the university reportedly knew about, going back to 2015.

“We promised Stone that we would end hazing on college campuses for good. By filing a complaint against Bowling Green State University, we are doing what is necessary to hold people in power accountable for their woeful inactions to keep students safe and reckless disregard for illegal activity,” Shari and Cory Foltz said in a statement.

“Despite being completely aware of the hazing activities that have taken place at Bowling Green for decades, the university enthusiastically endorses Greek life to parents and students. To be clear, any perceived benefit students get from joining a Greek organization is completely and totally outweighed by the risk of injury or death by antiquated and deadly hazing rituals.

“What happened to our son at Bowling Green State University is not unique. Students across the country will continue to experience humiliation, injury and death from hazing without immediate change. We demand increased education for students, transparency for parents, zero-tolerance policies for Greek organizations and immediate action from university leaders who have complete control over what happens on their campuses.

“Change cannot happen without accountability; more than anything, we want to prevent another family from living our nightmare.”

Rex Elliott and Sean Alto, the family’s attorneys from Cooper Elliott, said BGSU needs to be held accountable.

“All parents believe they’re placing their child in a safe and secure environment when sending them to college, but the facts prove otherwise. For years, Bowling Green officials turned a blind eye to hazing within Greek organizations on its campus while encouraging students like Stone to join its fraternities and sororities,” the attorneys said in a statement.

“They knew, or easily should have known, of Pike’s troubled history of hazing, locally and nationally, but did little to stop it. By filing this complaint, we are shining a light on these failings and holding University leaders accountable for their gross recklessness, lax policies or enforcement of those policies, and their inaction in the face of repeated warnings.

“After representing numerous hazing victims and their families, we know Greek organizations value self-preservation over the safety and well-being of their pledges and members. As such, we demand the immediate suspension of all Greek organizations across the country until they undergo rigorous safety training and demonstrate proper behavior. We also call for an end to all Greek pledge programs because they are an antiquated and useless symbol of the past that has no place in today’s society. Finally, universities must institute and enforce zero-tolerance policies for hazing.

“Only when Greek organizations are forced to change at their core and universities are held accountable will we end the decades-long behaviors that result in the humiliation, injury and death of college students nationwide.”

Several men were charged with hazing after Foltz’s death. Their cases are continuing through Wood County Common Pleas Court, with another sentencing set for Friday.