Teachers retirement board members sue Ohio attorney general

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The chairman of the State Teachers Retirement System board and a former member filed a lawsuit Thursday against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for allegedly refusing to provide them with legal representation in a previously filed lawsuit.

Rudy Fichtenbaum and former member Wade Steen claim that when Yost sued them in 2024, he failed to provide them with legal representation, as required by Ohio law when sued in connection with their roles with STRS.

The pair claims they hired their own legal representation and were reminded that Yost was obligated to provide them counsel. They contacted Yost's representatives asking the state to pay for the lawyer fees.

"Without explanation, [Yost] indicated he would not pay the fees for their lawyers," according to the lawsuit. "Instead General Yost insisted that he would himself select counsel to oppose him in that case, selecting from among the several lawyers who he had worked with previously."

Yost selecting his opponents and determining how much they would be paid is "unethical, improper and illegal," the lawsuit states, so they refused the proposal.

"The conduct of [Yost] is intended to disadvantage [Fichtenbaum and Steen] in that such conduct deprives [Fichtenbaum and Steen] of their right to due process of law," the lawsuit states.

In a statement to NBC4, the attorney general's office said STRS has insurance for defending its board members.

"The AG's officer offered both Steen and Fichtenbaum outside counsel through their insurance carrier," the spokesperson said. "Both of them refused this counsel and insisted on their own private counsel. The state never pays bills for private counsel hired by state employees. In this case there was an insurance policy to cover attorney fees for these two individuals, through approved counsel. There is an established process for paying the attorney bills in this situation. Just because they don't like the process doesn't mean they get to make the state, through the taxpayers, pay for their private attorneys."

Fichtenbaum and Steen are seeking unspecified damages.