AXP @ MCLA sued by one-eyed victim

[hoosier]

MCLA, fraternity sued over assault
By Rich Azzopardi, Berkshire Eagle Staff

NORTH ADAMS -- The insurance company of a former Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts student convicted in an alcohol-fueled attack that left another student with a loss of vision in his left eye has filed suit against the college and his fraternity.

The suit alleges that Alpha Chi Rho's encouragement of binge drinking, and the failure of the college to intervene when officials saw the 20-year-old victim, Shane Armstrong, visibly intoxicated, made both partially liable in his April 9, 1999, assault by Gary Patten.

Patten's insurance company, United Services Automobile Association of San Antonio, is seeking to have both entities shoulder some of the $175,000 settlement that it made with Armstrong.

'Initiation ceremony'

The suit, filed in Berkshire Superior Court, alleges that in the hours before the assault, the then 21-year-old Patten, who was a member of the campus' Alpha Chi affiliate, Phi Omega Chi, consumed six to seven shots of whiskey within 45 minutes during an "initiation ceremony" for new pledges.

Patten then participated in "another Alpha Chi Rho ritual referred to as the 'Circle of Death,' " where fraternity brothers surround a beer keg and continuously fill their cups until the tap goes dry, according to court papers.

The party later was opened to nonfraternity members, during which Patten had consumed "large quantities" of beer and "bug juice," a concoction described in the lawsuit as a "combination of vodka, additional varieties of alcohol and juice."

"By allowing and encouraging excessive drinking, the Phi Omega Chi chapter of Alpha Chi Rho created a hazardous situation which directly and proximately caused (the) plaintiff's injuries," the suit stated.

The Phi Omega chapter and Alpha Chi Rho are listed separately as defendants in the suit.

Armstrong, then a 20-year-old sophomore, also attended the party and later moved on to the nearby Brick Oven bar.

Shortly after 11 p.m., MCLA public safety officers and a resident adviser at the college witnessed Armstrong, who was outside the bar, "stumble across traffic, narrowly avoid being struck by a car, fall to the ground, then pick himself up and re-enter the bar presumably to drink more alcohol, all the while knowing he was an underage student," the suit stated.

"These officers did not do anything in response to their observation of Mr. Armstrong's dangerous and self-harming behavior," according to the suit, which was filed by Brian A. O'Connell and Laura K. Peltonen of the Wellesley law firm Zizik, Powers, O'Connell, Spaulding & Lamontagne.

"As a result of MCLA's negligent failure to provide a safe environment to its students on campus, Mr. Armstrong sustained severe and permanent injuries and damages."

MCLA spokeswoman Lori Gazzillo said the college has not yet formally received a copy of the suit and declined to comment on its contents.

Peltonen, reached by phone, also declined comment.

Messages left with both O'Connell and the Neptune, N.J.-based offices of Alpha Chi Rho were not returned.

Vague recollections

The lawsuit states that both men were intoxicated to the point where they were left with only a vague recollection of what happened later that night.

According to court testimony, Patten attacked Armstrong in a fire lane between two dormitory townhouses on the college campus, repeatedly kicking and punching the victim as he lay in a fetal position. The assault was touched off by "rude, sexual and harassing comments" Armstrong made toward Patten's girlfriend, the suit stated.

Armstrong was left with multiple facial lacerations, a broken nose, and orbital and ocular injuries that caused him to lose direct sight in his left eye.

On Jan. 21, 2000, Patten was found guilty of assault and battery and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon (a shod foot) after a jury-waived trial in Berkshire Superior Court.

He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail.

Armstrong later filed a civil suit against Patten, the insurance company, MCLA and the local and national fraternities. That suit was settled in July 2004, with the insurance company agreeing to pay $175,000.

Under the terms of the settlement, all other defendants, including Patten, were dropped from the suit.

[DeltAlum]

It has been said here before, but here's an example of why Nationals and schools are becoming more active in alcohol and hazing issues.

They're being sued.

There have also been cases of chapters, chapter officers and even house corporations -- and, of course, individual members and in at least one case parents being named.

This has happened even when the alleged events happen in places which are technically "off campus."