COLUMBUS, Ohio — The chairman of the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) board and a former member have filed a lawsuit against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, alleging he refused to provide them with legal representation in a prior case.
Rudy Fichtenbaum, current STRS board chairman, and former board member Wade Steen claim that when Yost sued them in 2024, state law required his office to provide legal counsel because they were acting in their official capacities. Instead, they allege, Yost declined to pay their legal fees after they secured private attorneys and later attempted to choose their defense counsel himself.
Yost’s 2024 lawsuit accused Fichtenbaum and Steen of breaching their fiduciary duties by attempting to steer as much as 70% of STRS’s assets—roughly $65 billion—into a private investment firm called QED. The firm allegedly had “backdoor ties” to the two board members and lacked proper qualifications. Yost sought to remove both men from the board, calling their actions a contract-steering scheme that put retirees’ pensions at risk.
“Without explanation, [Yost] indicated he would not pay the fees for their lawyers,” the new lawsuit states. “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.”
Fichtenbaum and Steen argue that allowing Yost to choose both the state’s attorneys and those representing them was “unethical, improper and illegal,” and said it deprived them of due process.
The attorney general’s office rejected the claims, saying STRS has insurance specifically to defend board members in such cases. A spokesperson said both Fichtenbaum and Steen were offered outside counsel through the system’s insurance but refused, insisting instead on their own private attorneys.
Fichtenbaum and Steen are seeking unspecified damages.
