Guest dies after party – now college is in court
May 14, 2009 by Taylor HanniganPosted in: From the Courts, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
He wasn’t a student at the school, and the party took place over the summer. But a college found itself defending charges that it was responsible for his alcohol-related death.
The party was held at a college-owned house by two students who were living there and working at the school for the summer. The students didn’t clear the party with the college, and they violated the school’s alcohol policy by having beer there.
After drinking at the party, the 20-year-old guest was killed when he drove his car into a disabled bus on a highway.
His parents blamed the college: They said it should have done a better job of monitoring alcohol consumption and preventing underage drinking at the party.
The accident wasn’t the college’s fault, the court said.
The college’s rules about alcohol didn’t include someone who wasn’t a student there, it explained.
No one was in a better position to prevent the accident than the deceased victim. He could have decided not to drink, to drink less, or not to drive.
A ruling for the college was upheld.
Cite: Brody v. Wheaton College
Did the court get it right? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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Tags: alcohol, drunk driving, student parties
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May 21st, 2009 at 12:18 pm
As a psychologist and adjunct instructor who works at a small college, it is very concerning to me that the expectation seems to be growing that college officials should somehow be miraculously aware of student (and non-student!) behavior at all times, and be able to intervene and prevent behavior at all times. This concerns me for two reasons. First, it sends a message that individuals are not responsible for their own actions. Second — and I say this with seventeen years of experience under my belt — what is being asked of the college here is clearly impossible. There is simply no way, and especially now in these days of staff cuts in which college staff are increasingly overburdened and overwhelmed with work, that anyone could have known about the party or the presence of the non-college individual. Unless we become omnipotent and omniscient mind readers, it simply will never happen. If lawsuits such as these are successful, what will end up happening is the demise of the university as we know it. In my opinion, we are moving WAY too far in the direction of college responsibility for student behavior. We would have to turn colleges into prisons to exert that level of control. Thank you for allowing me a forum to express what is becoming an increasing concern for me and many others who work on college campsuses.
Carol
May 21st, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The parents appear sue happy.
Why didn’t they sue themselves for not teaching the young adult to be responsible (about drinking and driving among other things).
Suing to (attempt to) prove that someone else is guilty, does not make them less guilty.
Bottom line: The student was an adult – responsible for his own actions.
May 21st, 2009 at 1:29 pm
This is America. No one is responsible when anything bad hapens to them. Someone else is always to blame and therefore can be sued for damages. The court’s decision is completely right, for a refreshing change. If said 20-year-old had enlisted in the Armed Forces and been killed in combat, I am sure the college would have been sued for allowing military personnel near the campus at any time in the last 10 to 20 years.
It is a sad and indeed tragic situation when a young man’s life is cut short by his own stupidity, but that does not make it someone else’s fault or responsibility. I think his PARENTS should be held accountable for failing to properly educate their son about matters of ethanol consumption, so they should have to foot the bill for the college’s perfectly appropriate legal defense. Otherwise, EVERY STUDENT AT THE COLLEGE WILL BEAR THE COST OF THE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IN HIGHER TUITION BILLS.
May 21st, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I never cease to be amazed at parents who place the blame for their childrens’ poor decisions on everyone but the child.
It makes me wonder whether they ever tried teaching the children anything at all about personal responsibility.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Fraternities–sororities—greek organizations–are a part of a racist, sexistist, elitist and alcoholic culture, all of whom should have been purged years ago. After thirty years of teaching at the university level, observing underage and legal age young adults come to class with a hang-over or in some cases outright drunk, the time has come to put this type of behavior off campus and in the hands of law enforcement. With the rise in the cost of higher education, there are too many taxpayers supporting higher education with their hard earned money to continue with this type of decadent behavior. These types of students need to either get a job or join the military where they can drink their lives away rather than be a burden to academia and those here to actually learn.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Thank you Lee.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
From the sounds of it, this looks like a cynical, contemptuous attempt by “parents” to cash in on the loss of their son, enabled no doubt by an equally cynical, predatory lawyer. I can only hope the lawyer didn’t graduate from the school in question. Just another example of our overly litigious society looking for scapegoats and deep pockets, and avoiding personal responsibility at every turn. Ironically, our universities keep cranking out more lawyers than we need or can use and this only feeds the monster.
May 21st, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Looks like courts are required AGAIN to protect the people from themselves; parents of the deceased: if you are not out to exploit your son’s death and make money, at least take the blame of not instilling the right behavior of no drunk driving in your kid. I do want to sue you for wasting the court’s time on non-cases.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
When I was in college 50 years ago, the big social movement on campus was against “in loco parentis” by the school. I thought we had gotten well past that and were treating students, and nonstudents of legal age, as adults. The student was responsible for himself. The lawsuit was inappropriate: an example, if we need one, of overuse and exploitation of the legal system.
June 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Humphies, Why the jump right to slamming Fraternities and Sororities?! The article does not mention either! The article states “The party was held at a college-owned house by two students who were living there and working at the school for the summer.” Nothing about greeks! For all we know from the article this could have been a scholarship house. As an advisor and Board of Governors member for a fraternity chapter I find this kind of rush to judgement offensive. Many greek organizations on both a national and local levels are working hard to dispel this worn out, and frankly out-dated, thinking. This is a sad situation on so many levels – a dead young man. confused parents, and, quite probably, a money hungry lawyer. Let’s not begin throwing mud where it’s not deserved.