A Pennsylvania jury has awarded $7.8 million to the estate of Justin King, an 18-year-old freshman who died in 2019 after falling from a cliff during a fraternity rush event at Bloomsburg University.
King attended the party organized by the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority on September 13th, where he was reportedly consumed by "copious amounts" of alcohol. He wandered away from campus and fell over a rocky ledge before plummeting down a 75-foot embankment that led to the Bloomsberg Walking Trail.
An autopsy later determined that King's death was accidental, with his blood alcohol level exceeding three times the legal limit at the time of his death. The toxicology report found that King had ingested nearly three times the amount of alcohol permissible under Pennsylvania law.
King's estate reached confidential settlements in recent years with several defendants, but pursued a lawsuit against Alpha Sigma Tau national sorority, alleging that the organization ignored policy violations and hazing for years before his death.
In a 10-day trial, the jury allocated responsibility to the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority at 35%, which means it will pay $2.73 million to King's estate. The remaining amount of $3.5 million is expected to be collected through delay of damages.
The jury also found the Kappa Sigma fraternity responsible for 35% of King's death, while the university itself was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. However, attorneys representing King's estate stated that the jury understood the cultural context behind the hazing incidents and recognized corporate responsibility.
In response to the verdict, Alpha Sigma Tau CEO Jordan Feldhaus expressed disappointment, stating that the organization "fundamentally disagrees" with the outcome and believes it sets a "deeply concerning precedent." The sorority plans to review its options in the litigation.
King attended the party organized by the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority on September 13th, where he was reportedly consumed by "copious amounts" of alcohol. He wandered away from campus and fell over a rocky ledge before plummeting down a 75-foot embankment that led to the Bloomsberg Walking Trail.
An autopsy later determined that King's death was accidental, with his blood alcohol level exceeding three times the legal limit at the time of his death. The toxicology report found that King had ingested nearly three times the amount of alcohol permissible under Pennsylvania law.
King's estate reached confidential settlements in recent years with several defendants, but pursued a lawsuit against Alpha Sigma Tau national sorority, alleging that the organization ignored policy violations and hazing for years before his death.
In a 10-day trial, the jury allocated responsibility to the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority at 35%, which means it will pay $2.73 million to King's estate. The remaining amount of $3.5 million is expected to be collected through delay of damages.
The jury also found the Kappa Sigma fraternity responsible for 35% of King's death, while the university itself was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. However, attorneys representing King's estate stated that the jury understood the cultural context behind the hazing incidents and recognized corporate responsibility.
In response to the verdict, Alpha Sigma Tau CEO Jordan Feldhaus expressed disappointment, stating that the organization "fundamentally disagrees" with the outcome and believes it sets a "deeply concerning precedent." The sorority plans to review its options in the litigation.
King's parents deserve justice, glad the jury finally saw the bigger picture 
Alpha Sigma Tau needs to get their act together, this ain't just about one kid 
They're basically saying that the whole hazing culture thing is just a myth and that they were totally in the clear. Meanwhile, I'm over here thinking that they should've been held accountable for putting an 18-year-old in harm's way with all that booze. But at the same time, I don't want to be too harsh on them... like, maybe they did genuinely not realize what was going on? 
And on the other hand, I'm still salty about the whole thing and think the university should've been named a defendant for all the negligence and stuff. But hey, $2.73 million is definitely better than nothing, right? 
can you believe this?! 7.8 million dollars for one stupid party gone wrong? 
and they're just gonna let the frats and the sororities off scot-free? 
it's like they think money makes everything okay. newsflash: it doesn't! 
at least King's family is getting some justice, but the real victims are the ones who will never get to experience adulthood 
18-yr-old freshman dies after getting lit at frat party... $7.8M awarded to his estate 
. Crazy how much booze one can down before hitting rock bottom (literally) - nearly 3x the legal limit 
King was barely 18 and his life was cut short by those frat parties 
The amount of money awarded to the estate is huge too, $2.73 million is a lot 
. Alpha Sigma Tau and Kappa Sigma are supposed to be setting an example for the Greek life community, not contributing to these avoidable deaths 
. I'm all for corporate responsibility and accountability, but we need more than just lip service when it comes to actual change 
.
. And now they're whining that this verdict sets a "deeply concerning precedent"? Get over yourselves 
. The fact is, they enabled this culture of reckless partying and put some poor kid's life in danger. It's time to take responsibility for those actions... or at least make sure the orgs pay up 
. And I'm all for corporate responsibility 
. It's about time these organizations start taking their responsibilities seriously.
. and alpha sig tau saying the verdict sets a "deeply concerning precedent" is just laughable 
. it's not like this is some kinda national crisis, it's just a bunch of kids gettin' lit at a party 
. maybe next time they should stick to sober events? 
my heart goes out to them... these frats gotta take responsibility for their actions, i mean they knew something was up with hazing and still kept doing it 
but i guess thats the risk we take when we want to party hard, gotta make sure everyone gets home safe 