Former student files lawsuit two years after fall

[Psi U MC Vito]

Two years of recovery from debilitating injuries after a 27-foot fall from a fraternity window have led former University of Idaho student Amanda Andaverde and her parents to file suit against the university and various Greek organizations.
Andaverde, who continues to suffer from the permanent effects of her injuries, is seeking financial compensation for the medical, travel and other expenses incurred by her family since the incident during the early morning of Sept. 10, 2009.
The long list of defendants includes Sigma Alpha Epsilonn — the fraternity where the accident took place — and its parent companies, UI, the State Board of Education, Delta Delta Delta sorority where Andaverde was a member, and several unnamed SAE members.

Rest of article http://www.uiargonaut.com/sections/n...ent_filed.html

So what say you? I find it kind of funny myself. (The suit, not what happened) That being said, I can see a legit suit against SAE, but not the rest.

[katydidKD]

Suit will be dismissed against all but SAE. Ridiculous.

[Psi U MC Vito]

That was the impression I got, though only time will tell.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Is there a statute of limitations to file a claim in a case like this? I'm curious as to why they are suing now two years after the fact rather than two years ago.

[KSigkid]

As far as the statute of limitations, it's entirely possible that the statute is 2-3 years or longer for the claims in this suit. It's not unheard of or even odd for the statute to be at least that length. (Disclaimer: although I'm an attorney, I'm not admitted to practice law in Idaho).

There could be a number of reasons for waiting two years. A lot of times in personal injury actions, plaintiffs will wait until they have a clear idea of their medical picture before they sue. Or, they could have been negotiating with the various insurance carriers/parties, and ended up having to file suit because of the statute of limitations. Again, it's not uncommon to wait some time to sue, especially where there are significant injuries involved.

Again, depending on the particular allegations in the complaint, it's possible they could keep some of the other parties (besides SAE) in the suit and get some sort of settlement out of them.

[Psi U MC Vito]

I know you aren't part of the Idaho Bar, but in general is it possible to hold somebody responsible for yourself choosing to break the law?

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

I know you aren't part of the Idaho Bar, but in general is it possible to hold somebody responsible for yourself choosing to break the law?

I don't mean to be vague, but it depends on what they did, and what you did. As with so many things, it depends on the facts (and whether you really "chose" to do something).

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by katydidKD

Suit will be dismissed against all but SAE. Ridiculous.

You might want to slow your roll there before you've even finished 1/6 of law school.

Make a date with Wexis and check into 133 Idaho 388 or 987 P.2d 300 or 139 Ed. Law Rep. 643.

Idaho Code § 23-808 was key in the 1999 case and I'm assuming it is going to come up again as there is, sadly, a supreme court case on the topic.
http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/ids...SECT23-808.htm

Perhaps the 18 year old woman in the 1999 case had her first experience with alcohol the night she fell three stories (she had consumed alcohol in high school); but it is unlikely the 19 year old sophomore was trying alcohol for the first time in 2009. I'm not exactly sure which window she fell from as I'm not sure of where the third floor porch is as I never shacked in SAE or any other fraternity house; but I think it was either the three windows at the front of the back on the third floor. The front has concrete leading up to the front door and in front of the house, and the back has a concrete patio, if you will. They did a massive remodel a couple of years ago and took a tour during an open house. I remember a porch on the ground or second floor that is on the north side with the new fire exits. I only remember as they had triple bunk beds purchased from UI surplus that were welded together and were kind of amazing engineering wise.

[Mevara]

Delta Delta Delta is also being sued for not following their own house policies, which put upperclassman members in charge of preventing underage sisters like Andaverde from drinking alcohol.

I think this is ridiculous!! So she is suing them because they failed to babysit her. Are people no longer responsible for their own actions?!

[33girl]

Not only that, I very much doubt that it says "the upperclassmen are responsible for making sure no underage pledges drink" in any DDD policies. It's been stated time and again that just as sororities can be held responsible for hazing, a pledge can be held responsible for allowing him/herself to be hazed. Same principle here, unless someone literally tied her down and poured alcohol down her throat.

[DeltaEmi88]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Not only that, I very much doubt that it says "the upperclassmen are responsible for making sure no underage pledges drink" in any DDD policies. It's been stated time and again that just as sororities can be held responsible for hazing, a pledge can be held responsible for allowing him/herself to be hazed. Same principle here, unless someone literally tied her down and poured alcohol down her throat.

As the current risk management chair for my chapter, I can verify that there are no national policies that state that upperclassman are responsible for making sure that underage members do not drink outside of official functions. When it comes to official functions, we have a sober sister program that is implemented to prevent such things, although I do not know if this chapter does have a similar program. I would imagine they might, but this doesn't sound as if it was an official function. I interpreted this to read as if she had been at a fraternity party.

However, this is just my interpretation, and I could be totally wrong because I'm not close with the situation. Hopefully this helps a bit.