Here is a similar situation with a different ruling . . .
Fraternity cleared in death of Garofalo
High court says family can sue 'big brother'
By Brian Sharp
Iowa City Press-Citizen
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Thursday that blame for the 1995 alcohol-related
death of a University of Iowa freshman does not rest with the fraternity
where he was provided alcohol, nor with one of its members.
But the high court said Matthew Garofalo's parents still could pursue
legal action against another fraternity member - their son's "big brother"
at Lambda Chi Alpha; an initiated member assigned to help Garofalo adjust
to fraternity life.
The ruling came five years to the day after the 19-year-old from Elgin,
Ill., drank enough alcohol in an hour's time to cause his death the next
morning. It affirmed an earlier Johnson County District Court ruling,
striking a painful blow to the family lawsuit.
"This boy is dead," said Garofalo family attorney David Wise, of Chicago.
"It's just hard to swallow that nobody has done anything wrong."
The high court's majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Arthur A.
McGiverin, stated: "The district court properly recognized that a fraternity
is not a custodial institution and its members, as adults, are free to
make choices about their use and abuse of alcohol. No care-taking function
is involved."
While consequence for Garofalo's death has yet to be rendered in the
courtroom, it sparked near immediate, widespread changes in UI alcohol
policies. And it continues to fuel a community debate today about how
UI and the City of Iowa City can best curb underage and excessive drinking.
"It's sad that we have to learn from that ... but it is good for people
to hear," said UI Interfraternity Council President Jason Goslin. "We're
dry now. I would say (Garofalo's death) is probably the main reason."
But the memory of Garofalo is beginning to fade. Goslin, a senior, arrived
on campus in 1997 and did not hear about the case until becoming president
of his Sigma Chi fraternity two years ago.
"I doubt the younger members even know about it," he said.
Garofalo and other pledges were provided alcohol after a "Big Brother/Little
Brother" ceremony Sept. 7, 1995 at Lamba Chi Alpha. He and two others
passed out, court records state. Early the next morning, Garofalo's lungs
filled with vomit, causing his heart to stop.
An autopsy showed a .188 blood-alcohol level - nearly twice the amount
Iowa law considers too intoxicated to drive. It is estimated he reached
up to a .300 level during the night.
Garofalo's parents, Edward and Monica Garofalo of Hampshire, Ill., sued
the fraternity and four fraternity members, including Tim Reier and Chad
Diehl, in October 1996. Their suit alleged the incident was hazing, with
pledges encouraged to drink a lot of alcohol quickly.
District Court Judge L. Vern Robinson dismissed Reier from the case in
August 1998 but left Diehl as a defendant. Robinson said there was evidence
that Diehl - Garofalo's "big brother" - provided alcohol and assumed
some responsibility.
Another judge dismissed defendant Brian Garcea, and the Garofalos dropped
their case against Brian Rinehart.
"What can I say?" asked Edward Gallagher, another Garofalo family attorney
from Waterloo. "Right now, we'll proceed with the case against Chad Diehl."
Gallagher spoke with Edward and Monica Garofalo about the decision. They
could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The high court rejected the couple's three-part challenge raised on appeal.
They argued that a special relationship exists between a fraternity and
its members, raising the duty of care. Further, the national fraternity
had a duty to control its local chapter and members. The Garofalos also
claimed fraternity members failed to care for their son.
But the majority opinion stated, in part: "... the record before us reveals
no affirmative harm by the Iowa chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha, illegal
or otherwise, toward Garofalo. The drinking that ultimately led to Garofalo's
death was not part of any initiation ritual or ceremony."
Wise said the majority opinion ignored peer pressure, the realities of
being a teenager away from home for the first time and the reason fraternities,
schools and states enact laws again providing alcohol to people underage.
"We have this in Illinois," Wise said. "We get judges who act as super
jurors, who want to find a result. They took a lot of issues away from
a jury that a jury should be deciding."
Justice Louis A. Lavorato was among three of the six ruling justices
to dissent, in part.
Lavorato argued the fraternity was liable. He relied on the fact that
Garofalo and 23 other underage pledges were provided alcohol that night.
Court records show that fraternity functions were strongly tied to alcohol,
and that serving underage members was common - "in clear violation of
Iowa law," he wrote.
He continued that Reier and Diehl were the only fraternity members to
help Garofalo, but that the pair did not do enough under the law.
Indianapolis-based Lambda Chi Alpha suspended its local chapter one month
after Garofalo's death and has not returned to UI. Tom Helmbock is executive
vice president for the national fraternity.
"We're happy with the decision. For us, it ends a terrible tragedy,"
he said. "We're just glad the court supported the lower court ruling,
which we felt strongly about."
UI fraternities voluntarily went dry in the fall of 1998. University
officials stepped in the next year, ordering changes of their own. UI
Dean of Students Phillip E. Jones reiterated a policy last month that
bans alcohol from fraternities, except in the rooms of members 21 and
older.
According to police records, Greek members' alcohol-related arrest totals
dropped 5 percent last year, a slight improvement that Jones said must
be greater next year for UI to avoid taking more stringent action. But
this is just one campus, Goslin said.
"I think, on a different campus, it is going to happen again," he said,
"... as sad as that is."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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