Wrongful Death - Article - Family Sues Fraternity Over Death
Posted on Jan 27, 2006 | Daily Texan
Family Sues Fraternity Over Death
Suit accuses frat of negligence, giving alcohol to minors
By Patrick George
The family of the University freshman who died of an alcohol overdose in December filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against his fraternity. The family has also announced plans to issue a subpoena to the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office to release the student's autopsy report.
Phanta "Jack" Phoummarath was found dead at the Lambda Phi Epsilon house in West Campus on Dec. 10, 2005 . Attorneys for the family are now suing the fraternity's national chapter, as well as the UT-Austin chapter and all of its members.
"We're accusing them of many things, including negligence, promoting a party with underage drinking, providing alcohol to minors and failing to provide medical care to Jack," said Randall Sorrels, an attorney with the Houston-based law firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Matthews & Friend.
Family members said in December that Phoummarath's body was found covered in obscene and vulgar marker drawings.
Sorrels said that members of the fraternity have not been forthcoming and consistent in their accounts of what happened the night Jack died. Since the family is not privy to the ongoing criminal investigation, they will conduct their own independent investigation, he said. The suit is being filed in Houston for the convenience of the Phoummarath family, many of whom reside there.
"The fraternity has not told the complete details to the family," Sorrels said. "There are a lot of questions unanswered and a lot of anger and grief. We plan to hold them accountable."
The night Phoummarath died, he was accepted into the fraternity with six other pledges during a presentation party in which members were ordered to consume large amounts of alcohol, Sorrels said.
Members of the fraternity declined to comment.
The University is not named in the lawsuit, Sorrels added.
Phoummarath's death is being investigated by both the Austin Police Department and the Travis County District Attorney's Office. The latter agency requested that the autopsy not be released to the public because it would interfere with the investigation of crime.
When an autopsy is sealed, not even the family receives a copy of it, only the law enforcement officials investigating the crime, said APD spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz. Sorrels said the family wants a copy of the autopsy for their own investigation and plans to subpoena Travis County to release it.
"I'm glad they're doing that," said Dr. Roberto Bayardo, the chief medical examiner for Travis county. "It's time for the district attorney to release the report."
The district attorney's office was unavailable for comment after numerous phone calls Thursday.
A TABC official who has seen the autopsy told the Texan earlier this week that Phoummarath had a blood alcohol level of .50, more than six times the legal limit of .08.
After a University investigation of the matter, the local chapter of Lambda Phi Epsilon was suspended from being a student organization until 2011.
Records pertaining to Phoummarath's enrollment information at UT, including his major and registration, have not been released by the University.
When another Texan reporter called for the information, Associate Registrar Patricia Shaughness declined to answer questions or provide information about it.
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