A fraternity that knows or should know about prior sexual assault allegations against a member has a duty to protect social guests from sexual assault by that member, a district court judge ruled Wednesday. The ruling comes in a case involving a complaint against an Indiana fraternity accused of not protecting guests from one of its members.
By a majority vote, the Indiana Supreme Court has declined certified questions of Indiana state law presented by a federal court concerning an Indiana University campus sexual assault case.
The Indiana Southern District Court has partially denied summary judgment to an Indiana University fraternity implicated in a campus sexual assault after finding “open issues” in the applicability of Indiana Supreme Court precedent concerning foreseeability in the context of duty.
The governing body of Delta Tau Delta has suspended the charter for the fraternity's chapter at Indiana University Bloomington following problems with hazing. The fraternity also faces a lawsuit alleging sexual assault.
A national fraternity assumed no duty to protect local chapter pledges and is not vicariously liable for the negligence of local chapter officers and representatives, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The justices affirmed summary judgment for Delta Tau Delta in a wrongful death action brought by a deceased pledge’s family.
The national organization of a Wabash College fraternity where a freshman pledge died after a night of heavy drinking is not entitled to summary judgment on the student’s parents’ claims arising from his wrongful death, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.