I understand. I think this particular lawyer would probably go for the "Corporate Death Penalty" if the young men were in a church choir.

She or he just happened to have a client in a big GLO. My guess is that the tactic would have been the same no matter which group was involved.

If it is ok for a national to hold an entire chapter responsible for the actions of one member then why can't a higher authority hold an entire national responsible for the actions of one chapter?

? for any JDs or CPAs out there.

Can the national orgs set up their assets so they are protected from potential lawsuits? ABC Fraternity Inc could set up the
ABC Education Foundation.

Examples.

1. When OJ lost his civil trial the Brown family didn't get any cash because most of OJ's assets were in his pension fund. Pension funds are protected.

2. When people declare bankruptcy their primary residence is protected. The debtor might owe 1 million but the creditor can't go after a 20 million dollar house because a primary residence is exempt.

I'm not really sure of the specifics (haven't studies this sort of thing yet).

But an organization is entirely different from an individual. A primary residence is protected b/c people need a place to live, pension funds, i'm not entirely sure as to the reasoning, but I assume it has something to do with money to live on.

Corporations are allowed much fewer rights than individuals. I would guess that pretty much anything is fair game.

As far as the primary residence...could Sig Ep sell their HQ building to their HQ exec (or someone who doesn't already own a house), and have them claim that as their "primary residence"?

I believe that a judge could declare the sale to be void if it is just to shelter the organization from having to pay a claim.

Most HQ buildings are owned by the organization's foundation anyhow. Usually the actual organziation leases them.

Could this lawsuit go after the Foundation as well? It's my understanding that foundations are usually a seperate entity from the GLO itself.

Some good questions. I would guess that the "Foundation" would be vulnerable since the entire fraternity benefits from it and donates to it. What might not be touched is chapter houses which are totally owned by separate housing corporations. If they're like many of ours, they get no money (except possibly loans repayable with interest) from the Fraternity and are stand-alone corporations registered with the state.

Of course that doesn't mean that the plaintiff couldn't name the housing corporation in the suit as well.

JD's, help us out here.

Sig Ep Lawsuit
 

The recent lawsuit filed in Mississippi seeking the "corporate death penalty" against Sigma Phi Epsilon has been settled. The terms will not be released but were described as "amicable".

Re: Sig Ep Lawsuit
 

It's still scary to see them use the death penalty as a bargaining chip. If the settlement was too heavy in favor of the plaintiff in this one (we may never know), it might become standard practice.

Re: Re: Sig Ep Lawsuit
 

I definately agree.

I cannot wait to hear the outcome!

These sue happy people are driving us all craqzy. I am not saying that there was not a problem with the death of any student of a Greek Organization.

But to try to drive a Greek Org. out of being is to much to beleive.:(

Please post as soon as anything s announced!!!

Lawsuit
 

As noted above the case was settled.

Before you indict these 'sue happy people' realize that the GLO's in many cases give them damned good reasons to sue.

If your child dies in a hazing incedent, damned right you're going to want to sue that organization (the chapter) out of existance. If killing its own members is the organization's contribution to society, it deserves to go.

If a national organization doesn't do everything it can to ensure that its chapters are safe for members and new members alike then I think it is neglecting its duty.

At what point does $$$$$$ instead of $$$ compensate for the loss of a child. No monetary figure can bring anyone back. If you want to make a difference then rally a cause to stop further incidents from happening again. Punishing an entire organization in which 99.9% of the members had nothing to do with such incident is not justified, it's vindictive.