Crime & Safety
Family of Palatine Hazing Victim Can Sue NIU Frat Members: Court
A state appeals court overturned Monday a Cook County judge's 2014 dismissal of the civil suit.
A lawsuit against a Northern Illinois University fraternity filed by the family of a Palatine freshman who died from over-drinking during a 2012 hazing incident was partially reinstated Monday by a state appeals court, the Chicago Tribune reports.
David Bogenberger died November of 2012 at the NIU Pi Kappa Alpha house after frat members goaded him into drinking a dangerous amount of vodka over 90 minutes at a party. When he was found at the house the morning after, Bogenberger was unresponsive, and he had a blood-alcohol content almost five times over the legal limit. Bogenberger, who had an enlarged heart, died of an arrhythmia caused by the excessive alcohol, according to the DeKalb County coroner.
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- 22 Arrest Warrants Issued in David Bogenberger’s Death
- Defendants in David Bogenberger Hazing Case Plead Not Guilty
- New Details Emerge in NIU Hazing Death
- Lawsuit Filed in Palatine NIU Student Hazing Death
- Judge Dismisses Drinking-Death Lawsuit Against NIU Fraternity
- No Jail Time for 22 People Convicted in Hazing Death of Palatine High Grad
In 2014, a Cook County judge had dismissed the lawsuit, which was filed in 2013, saying the family failed to show that Pi Kappa Alpha required intoxication for membership.
The appeals court's reversal allows the family to sue Pi Kappa Alpha chapter leaders and members who organized and were at the party where Bogenberger died, the Tribune reports. The appeals court, however, did uphold the dismissal of the national fraternity organization, frat members who didn't attend the party and the house's landlord from the lawsuit, the report added.
Find out what's happening in Palatinefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In total, 22 people were charged in the case, and they pleaded down to sentences of fines and community service last year.
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