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Recent Legal Action Against Fraternities for Drinking-Related Deaths

When I first graduated from law school, I represented a couple that was being sued for wrongful death by the parents of a classmate of their son. For me, the theory of liability was a novel one; one I had never been asked to consider during Torts class in school.

The dead boy had gone away to college and pledged a fraternity on campus. My client’s minor son was one of the fellow frat members. During one of the infamous college “keggers” hosted by the fraternity, the boy overindulged and died of alcohol poisoning; none of the boys who were living with him in the frat house had come to his aid when he was rendered unconscious and eventually stopped breathing. The parents of the boy sued the school, the fraternity, certain frat brothers and, if underage, their parents. My clients were one of the unlucky sets of frat brother parents.

It turns out that suing a fraternity (on both the local and national levels), its officers, its members, and certain parents of officers and members is a growing trend in personal liability law. Legal theories range from providing alcohol to a minor to failure to supervise to negligent parenting. It’s been about five years since I first encountered “fraternity litigation”, and I remain stunned that national fraternal organizations, and parents, are still willing to risk liability for the inevitable injury and death that arises during ubiquitous frat parties.

Kansas University fraternity sued for fraternity death

In January 2010, the parents of a Kansas University student sued his fraternity in a wrongful death suit; they also sued 10 of the fraternity members. Jason Wren, a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, was found dead after a night of drinking. Wren began the night with multiple Margaritas with friends at a local Mexican restaurant and followed that up with a dozen beers and a bottle of hard liquor at the frat house.

In their suit, Wren’s parents claim that whiskey, vodka, beer and “beer pong” games were made available to the victim and other partygoers at the frat house, most of whom were under twenty-one. The parents also allege that neither the fraternity nor its members deterred, prevented, or prohibited the underage drinking and that the underage pledges were challenged to hazing games in which they were required to quickly drink large amounts of booze. The loser was the first one to quit drinking or vomit.

Wren’s parents are suing based on breach of contract and negligence. They also accuse fraternity members of failing to seek medical help for their son, despite his obvious intoxication and massive head injury. An autopsy showed that Wren’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .362 percent at the time of his death, more than four times the legal limit.

Records show that Wren was walked to his bed and left there by friends at approximately 2 a.m.; 20 minutes later, he got out of bed, went downstairs, and fell asleep again. At 3 a.m., Wren was again put to bed by friends; this would be the last time anyone would see the boy alive. Friends attempted to wake Wren at 2 p.m. the next afternoon, but found him cold and unresponsive. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 2:45 p.m.; they estimated that he had been dead for “some time”.

Criminal liability for hosting fraternity parties

In addition to being subjected to civil litigation, law enforcement officials have begun prosecuting fraternity representatives when underage members die or are seriously injured after consuming alcohol at organization events.

Three members of a banned fraternity at SUNY Geneseo were charged with hazing, unlawfully dealing with a child, and criminally negligent homicide last year for their role in organizing a night of binge drinking that resulted in a sophomore’s death from alcohol poisoning. Arman Partamian, a nineteen-year-old biology major from Queens, New York was found lying face down on a mattress at a house run by an off-campus club. Toxicology tests showed that Partamian had a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .55, more than four times the legal limit. The homicide charge is a felony that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison.

At Penn State, members of Alpha Epsilon Pi have been charged with hazing for an incident that sent two fraternity members to the hospital with alcohol poisoning; thankfully, nobody died. One pledge stated that he was warned by frat officials to “wear old clothes” for a bid initiation ceremony and, on arrival, was forced to turn over his phone, jacket, and wallet. He and other pledges were then led to the basement where 30 frat members circled the pledges and forced them to participate in hard-core drinking games. The pledge claims he was soaked with beer and vomit, but was given dry clothes and carried back to the dorm. Once back in his room, he vomited and urinated on his bed, dress, floor, schoolbooks, and his roommate’s shoes before passing out again.

Realizing that they might face discipline for their role in the young pledges’ injuries, fraternity officers hounded the pledges by calls and text messages the next day, warning them to stay away from the frat house and instructing them to tell police that they couldn’t remember where they were drinking the night before. Police have yet to decide whether charges will be brought against individual fraternity members.

The incident comes soon after the Interfraternity Council at Penn State decided to make all fraternity rush activities “dry” after the September death of Joseph Dado. Police claim that Dado was given alcohol at a frat party prior to falling to his death from a campus ledge.

Maintenance workers found eighteen-year-old Dado on a Monday evening in an exterior stairwell between two campus buildings; he had been reported missing on Sunday. Dado had fallen about fifteen feet to the concrete and sustained massive head trauma. Prior to going missing, he had been last seen leaving at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity early Sunday morning.

Millie Anne Cavanaugh, Esq. is a former insurance defense attorney who currently practices immigration law. She is licensed to practice law in California and Massachusetts. The information contained herein is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as a solicitation for your business or as legal advice on any subject matter. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this information without seeking independent legal advice.