Home Away from Home: Sorority Hazing Accident puts Responsibility on the Table
PLYMOUTH-The sorority hazing accident that killed Plymouth State University Junior, Kelly Nester on October 23, 2003 will go to trial with thanks to the Grafton Superior Court Judge Jean K. Burling’s decision to deny Plymouth State University in their motion to dismiss a suit brought fourth by the Nester’s parents, Richard and Annette.
Currently Plymouth State University is home to four sororities (Chi Alpha Zeta, Delta Zeta, Iota Delta Chi and Phi Beta Gamma) and three fraternities (Phi Beta Upsilon, Phi Chi Delta and Sigma Phi Epsilon).
Although there have been no such accidents since the October 2003 crash, the nearly three year old case has not yet been settled in court.
A large point of controversy in this case is responsibility. Although each side has their own ideas on who is responsible for the accident, they agreed on the doctrine of in loco parentis.
As stated in a March 30th report the Record Enterprise, “. . . both parties agree that the doctrine of in loco parentis – that the university takes on the role of parent of underage students – does not apply to the relationship between a university student and university.”
The Record Enterprise also found that “. . . On Feb. 14, The Nesters’ Attorney, Daniel Duckett of Wiggin & Nourine of Manchester filed an objection to the PSU motion. Duckett cited that the N.H. Supreme Court in the 2002 case Dupont v. Aavid Thermal Technologies has recognized a “special relationship” giving rise to a duty to aid or protect individuals from acts of others.
Duckett argued a 1999 Delaware case, Furek v Univ. of Delaware, “offers guidance to this Court since the N.H. Supreme Court has not addressed the question of whether universities owe a duty of care to their students to protect them from hazing injuries.”
The Nester family are alleging that the university-student relationship “gives rise to an affirmative duty to aid or protect the student body” and that the university “voluntarily assumes that duty through publication of a student code of conduct, the existence of a disciplinary system, and its establishment of a university office responsible for coordinating fraternities and sororities.”
According to the Record Enterprise, “the university objected to the Nesters’ Count XI alleging news of their daughter’s death on the night of Oct. 23, 2003 caused them negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED).
It argued Supreme Court precedents set standard requiring persons with a close relationship with the injured person to have witnessed the injury firsthand and at the time it was inflicted. Due to the fact that Nester’s parents were at their home in Rhode Island at the time of the accident, Burling dismissed Count XI.”
According to the Record Enterprise, the trial for the Nester case will be sometime between October 24th and November 17th of this year. If a date is not set within this timeframe, the trial will be set for some time in January 2007.
Due to the current standing of this case, no PSU officials were available to comment on the subject.