Suit Against Fraternity for Freshman's Death Leads to Anti-Hazing Edcuational Programs
College fraternities often impose strenuous requirements on new pledges to instill a sense of brotherhood. In the case of a University of Texas fraternity, however, the ideal of brotherhood was shattered when, following weeks of hazing, Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath was left to die of alcohol poisoning at a pledge initiation party.
During his second week at the university, Jack, 18, pledged to the Zeta chapter of Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity. Jack and six other pledges underwent a rigorous first-semester pledge process, culminating on the first weekend of December, dubbed “Hell Weekend.” The pledges were confined for the weekend to a guarded, isolated room in the fraternity house, where they were required to perform intense calisthenics and other demeaning activities, wearing only boxers and T-shirts. A single trash can was placed in the center of the room for bodily waste and vomit. One pledge collapsed and was dragged to the side of the room.
The following weekend, the pledges participated in a “crossing over” ceremony, in which they each lit a candle and said an oath to the fraternity. A full liter of rum was then passed among the pledges, who drank until the bottle was empty. Following this initiation ceremony, the fraternity held a party, which commenced with other school organizations presenting the pledges with gifts of alcohol. One of the pledges later explained that they finished some of the bottles because it would have been disrespectful not to.
Later that night, Jack passed out and was dragged to the small garage apartment behind the fraternity house. There, other fraternity members and alumni wrote obscene messages on him with permanent black marker—including on his teeth, the insides of his ears, and the bottoms of his feet. Jack did not respond or resist and was left alone overnight.
The next day, Jack lay unconscious on the bed while other fraternity members sat nearby, eating and watching a basketball game. Around 2:00 p.m., one of the members realized that Jack was not breathing and called paramedics, who arrived to find Jack dead of alcohol poisoning. His blood alcohol level was later determined to be .5, six times the legal limit. He is survived by his parents and four adult siblings.
The attorneys faced a considerable challenge in proving these allegations. Within days of Jack’s death, the fraternity chapter’s president called an emergency meeting to declare that all photographs and videos of the party should be destroyed. “What really stood out in this case was the concerted effort by the fraternity and its members to let as little evidence out as possible”, says Sorrels.
To further complicate matters, over 30 students who they deposed were present at the initiation party. The sheer volume of depositions made it hard to keep track of what had happened that night. Many of the students could not remember details of the party or the names of the individual participants. Fortunately, the Phoummaraths’ attorneys were able to find the evidence they sought on the Internet, through social networking Web sites where photographs and videos of the party had been posted.
Counsel used the photos and video to counter defendants’ contention that Jack contributed to his own death by voluntarily consuming the alcohol. “We wanted to emphasize the power of peer pressure,” explains Garza. “Drinking until you pass out was part of the culture for this fraternity; they behaved like they were bulletproof.”
The parties settled during mediation for $4.2 million. Forty-one individuals and five Greek organizations contributed to the settlement, and several of the individual defendants participated in an educational video produced by counsel about binge drinking and hazing. Three fraternity chapter leaders are currently on probation on criminal charges of hazing. “It appeared both the civil and criminal defense lawyers were sympathetic to the issue, and made a good effort to convince the boys to cooperate in making the video as part of the plea bargain,” says Sorrels. “They knew that some lives could be saved.” The Zeta chapter of Lambda Phi Epsilon was ordered to forfeit its charter until 2011 and pay a $5,000.00 fine as a result of the criminal investigation.
Jack’s parents are directing a portion of the proceeds from the settlement toward the creation of an endowment to provide scholarships and promote alcohol awareness, as well as distribution of the anti-hazing video, titled “Enough is Enough,” to universities and organizations in all 50 states.
