Confidential
Settlement – $500,000Judge
Court
Butte Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Michael J. Von Loewenfeldt
(Complex Appellate Litigation Group LLP)
Defendant
Facts
On the night of Oct. 5, 2000, the decedent, an 18-year-old college student, was pledging the defendant fraternity. During an initiation ritual, the decedent drank practically an entire bottle of blackberry brandy and was carried into a room in the fraternity house's basement where he was left alone. On October 7, at approximately 1 a.m., he was found unconscious by his friends who called "911." Police and emergency personnel arrived but they were unable to revive him. The decedent had apparently become unconscious and choked on his own vomit during the period that he had been left alone. It was later learned that his blood alcohol level was 0.37 (four times the legal limit), which caused the alcohol poisoning. The decedent's parents filed a wrongful death suit against the national chapter of the fraternity, the local chapter and eight fraternity members.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs submitted a demand of $5 million which was rejected. The individual fraternity members settled with the plaintiffs for a total of $500,000. (Three fraternity members pled no contest to criminal charges of providing alcohol to a minor who subsequently died, and they served 30-day jail sentences). The defendant national chapter settled for a confidential amount.
Damages
The plaintiffs claimed damages for the wrongful death of their son.
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