The alleged harassment of a Kroger worker by his supervisors may have led to his suicide and the wrongful death case against the supermarket titan will continue, a judge has ruled.

Evan Seyfried, 40, was a dairy manager at a Kroger store in the Cincinnati suburb of Milford. His father, Ken Seyfried, is suing the grocer for wrongful death, accusing two managers at his store of harassing his son during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually driving him to suicide on March 9, 2021.

The case was the subject of an Enquirer investigation published in November.

Last fall, Kroger sought to have the case dismissed citing what scholars dub Ohio’s “suicide rule” that limits liability following a victim’s death. The law in Ohio, as in most states, essentially faults a suicide victim for their own death – it may not matter what happened (or what was done) to them beforehand.

But Ohio has an exception, in which a defendant can be held liable for someone taking their own life if the possibility of “suicide was reasonably foreseeable.”

Denying the motion to dismiss, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins ruled Seyfried’s suicide may be deemed a result of alleged harassment he suffered.

“The court cannot conclude as a matter of law that Evan’s suicide was not reasonably foreseeable… Defendant’s (Kroger’s) motion is denied,” Jenkins wrote.

Jenkins dismissed five of 15 claims in Seyfried’s case, including allegations of reckless conduct, conspiracy and invasion of privacy. The judge allowed other allegations to proceed, including sexual harassment, retaliation and negligent supervision.

A trial date has not been scheduled.

Kroger officials issued a statement that did not address the ruling.

"We are saddened by the loss of our associate and colleague, Evan Seyfried, and extend our deepest sympathy to the Seyfried family," the company said. "As this continues to be active litigation, we cannot comment further at this time."

Meanwhile, Seyfried's attorney praised the decision.

“We are pleased with this result. We look forward to fully uncovering the unconscionable conduct from Kroger and getting the Family the justice they deserve,” said Austin LiPuma, the attorney representing Evan Seyfried’s estate and family, in a statement.

For the latest on Kroger, P&G, Fifth Third Bank and Cincinnati business, follow @alexcoolidge on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Judge refuses to dismiss Kroger worker suicide lawsuit