[PhilTau]

The following is general discussion using hypothetical facts. It is not a discussion about any particular person or organization.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Anyone can sue for anything. If one of those parents wants to pay a lawyer to conduct some pre-suit discovery, I suppose, power to 'em. That's tens of thousands of dollars for nothing. Fraternal organizations are structured with multiple layers and semi-independent structures for good cause. The chapter itself in Indiana is inactive and probably has no assets.

Unfortunately, there are some very wealthy people who pay attorney fees with the same degree of pain that we pay our Starbucks bill. For something like this, the multi-layering would likely be ignored.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Generally, the real and personal property are owned by a house corporation which acts independently of the chapter.

And sometimes it is owned by the college.

Originally Posted by Kevin

I cannot think of a plausible cause of action under any set of facts against a sorority by a member or the parent of a member for ceasing operations at a particular facility for good cause or bad cause.

Here's one (and there are others): A fact pattern establishing estoppel. In this example, the party against whom estoppel is claimed must do or say something calculated or intended to induce another party to believe that certain facts exists and induces the other party to act on that belief and change his position in reliance on those facts, thereby, incurring some injury. Possible hypothetical fact pattern could be that a national organization places a chapter on probation and mandates that the chapter follow its rehabilitation plan and if completed successfully, the chapter would be in good standing and off probation. Chapter works hard and completes the plan successfully, then the chapter is shut down anyway. Possible cause of action for estoppel. May or may not be successful, but it is a cause of action.

Originally Posted by Kevin

I guess I could see a potential claim of bad faith against the chapter or against the officers individually in the chapter if they deceived pledges into initiating into an organization they knew would be shut down... but 1) how do you quantify damages and 2) would you want to ruin your reputation by bringing a law suit which would probably be picked up and distributed for national media consumption by the tort reform activists?

That's why an attorney would bring a pre-suit discovery action. They would drop the case prior to filing suit (avoiding sanctions for frivolous filing) if they could not develop facts to support a plausible claim. The action would probably not be brought in tort or law, but likely brought in equity so that the court would be empowered to grant equitable relief (e.g., injunction, specific performance or court ordering the national organization to do something). In other words, the goal would not be to get money damages, but to get the court to order the national to undo what it did.