Federal District Court in Ohio Dismisses Case Against Ohio Northern University

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation (USAKIA) is a party in a case against Ohio Northern University (ONU) which was dismissed on April 15.   The case, number 3:14-cv-01712 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, a refiling and transfer of a case and an appeal from California, is Vincent Henry Bartning and the USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation (USAKIA) v. Ohio Northern University, U.S. Department of Education (USDE), U.S. Government Printing Office, and the United States of America.  The original federal district court case filed in the Eastern District of California was Bartning, et al. v. ONU, et al., case number 2:13-CV-01540-MCE-KJN.  Plaintiffs added other federal parties after the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) described the case incorrectly.  The GPO was the U.S. Government Printing Office until December of 2014.

Plaintiffs seek good legal representation and justice for the organization and for families of those killed in action (KIA) and died of wounds (DOW).  The organization's president and chief information officer, Mr. Vincent Bartning, 51, took a sabbatical from USAKIA in 2011 to attend law school, moving from California to Ohio after being solicited by ONU.  Entering in the top quarter with LSAT scores for their class of 2014, the school dismissed him after his first year in 2012.  Subsequent complaints with the USDE's Office for Civil Rights on the basis of illegal age and sex discrimination resulted in permission to sue in federal court in 2013.  Moreover, the GPO later incorrectly described the lawsuit as "Bartning v. USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation, et al." However, in spite of the previous complaint with the USDE and common-sense regarding the error by the GPO, Judge Jeffrey Helmick's recent decision did not recognize standing to sue the federal government, dismissing the case with prejudice. 

Vincent, whose grandfather, John Wallace Rich, 20, and cousin, Louis E. Bartning, 20, were KIA after volunteering for the U.S. Army, completed a graduate degree in nonprofit management at Regis University during his first semester at ONU.  He subsequently completed a Master's in Software Engineering there in 2015.  His grandfather volunteered as an engineering student while attending Purdue, died in combat in World War II, and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.  Louis Bartning was KIA in Korea and is buried in California.  Vincent is the eldest grandson of John Wallace Rich and the next one down-the-line with the family surname as Louis was an only son.

In addition to his having close relatives KIA, Vincent's parents graduated from schools including Stanford, UCLA, and UC Berkeley.  Plaintiffs describe severe hardship after the unfair dismissal from ONU.  Moreover, they had to file the lawsuit In Forma Pauperis in federal court.  However, USAKIA later paid for a contract with a lawyer with the Leigh Law Group, and the plaintiffs plan to determine their options.

The USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation (USAKIA), based in Mountain View, California, is an IRS-approved, tax-deductible and tax-exempt nonprofit.  Kin of those killed in combat while serving in the U.S. armed forces incorporated the 501(c)(3) organization in the fall of 2003.   Those KIA died on the battlefield before reaching a medical treatment facility, and those DOW died of their wounds received in action after reaching a medical treatment facility (also DWRIA).

Contacts:
Dennis Malloy, Community Relations
USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation (www.usakia.org)
Phone: (408) 954-8280
E-mail

SOURCE USA KIA/DOW Family Foundation (USAKIA)