Pennsylvania

House owner sues Penn St. over ban of frat where pledge fell

Tim Piazza, 19, died of severe head and spleen and abdominal injuries from falling down basement stairs the night of a pledge bid acceptance ceremony at Penn State University. 

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - The shuttered Penn State fraternity where a pledge suffered severe injuries during a night of drinking and hazing is suing the school, arguing the university banned it as a way to obtain the real estate.

The corporation that owns the Beta Theta Pi house sued the school in federal court on Friday, accusing Penn State of scapegoating it for the university's wider drinking and partying culture.

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Penn State banned the chapter in March 2017, after the death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey.

The fraternity corporation says university officials didn't follow proper procedures in banning Beta Theta Pi.

About two dozen members of the fraternity were charged criminally, with most resolved with guilty pleas to alcohol or hazing charges, or entry into a diversion program.

 

Associated Press

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