VCU Hazing Victim's Family Sues Delta Chi Fraternity For $28M: Report

RICHMOND, VA — The family of Adam Oakes, a Virginia Commonwealth University freshman and Loudoun County native who died from alcohol poisoning after attending a fraternity party,is suing Delta Chi for $28 million, according to a report from The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In February 2021, 19-year-old Oakes was invited to join the Delta Chi fraternity. He attended a "Big-Little" initiation party, where he was told to drink a large bottle of whiskey. He was found dead of ethanol toxicity the following day.

Oakes' cousin Courtney White filed the wrongful death suit in Richmond Circuit Court on Monday, according to the Times-Dispatch.

Delta Chi Fraternity Inc., Delta Chi Educational Foundation and the VCU chapter of Delta Chi are listed as defendants.

After drinking the bottle of whiskey, Oakes later passed out on a couch at an off-campus residence, where he was later found dead. A medical examiner ruled his death an accident.

Ethanol toxicity, sometimes referred to as alcohol poisoning, can be caused by binge drinking, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In 2021, prosecutors charged 11 members of Delta Chi with hazing and seven were charged with serving alcohol to a minor. VCU suspended the students, a defense attorney told The Associated Press, and the university permanently removed the fraternity from campus.

Prosecutors later dropped charges against five of 11 people indicted in Oakes' death. The remaining six either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of charges against them, though none served jail time, according to the Times-Dispatch.

"We know that the filing of these lawsuits will not bring Adam back, but we are hopeful that by holding Delta Chi, the VCU chapter of Delta Chi and each of the individual fraternity brothers accountable, it will send a message that echoes across America's national Greek organizations and college campuses that change is coming," the lawsuit reads.

In September, Virginia Commonwealth University agreed to pay the Oakes family nearly $1 million s part of a settlement agreement. The agreement also required the university to make additional changes to its fraternity and sorority life, according to a news release.

Six months earlier, Virginia lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill called "Adam's Law" that requires student organizations at Virginia colleges to undergo hazing prevention training, WRIC reported.