“The fraternity defendants negligently, recklessly, and outrageously forced, coerced, encouraged or otherwise caused Pennsylvania State University sophomore Timothy Piazza to consume life-threatening amounts of alcohol, and caused him to become intoxicated, fall and suffer grievous injuries and death,” the lawsuit alleged. “For more than 11 hours after his fall, Timothy Piazza endured horrible pain and suffering, which was documented by closed-circuit cameras.”
Lauren del Valle reports for CNN:
The parents of a Penn State University student who died in a hazing ritual have settled with the university and sued 28 members of the fraternity they say contributed to their son’s death.
Jim and Evelyn Piazza settled with Penn State last week for an undisclosed amount of money and safety reforms almost two years after the death of their son, Timothy.
The agreement also features strong language stipulating the university’s commitment to permanently barring Beta Theta Pi from existing at Penn State.
The civil lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court names 28 former Penn State University Beta Theta Pi fraternity members, alleging negligence, conspiracy and battery assault. There are three criminal cases in connection with the incident that remain in various stages of the legal process.
Jim and Evelyn Piazza, parents of Timothy Piazza.
The suit also names as a defendant St. Moritz Security Services, the company that provided security monitors at Greek Life social events, according to the civil complaint. The company declined to comment to CNN.
The Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s national organization settled with the Piazza family for an undisclosed amount of money last September.
“The early findings of that investigation indicated that the behavior of several undergraduate members was in direct contradiction of the International Fraternity’s expectations and risk management policies, as well as the International Fraternity’s reputation and commitment to character development,” a previous statement made by the organization stated.
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