The family of a drunken college kid who fell off a cliff after a boozy party and was later found dead will get $7.8 million from the sorority which owned the home where he partied before his fatal fall.
A Pennsylvania jury awarded Justin King’s family the hefty award Wednesday after a 10-day trial in a 2021 negligence lawsuit filed against the Alpha Sigma Tau national sorority.
The 18-year-old Bloomsburg University freshman was just weeks into classes when he attended the September 2019 Kappa Sigma fraternity rush party — which was held at the Alpha Sigma Tau house.
The next day, his body was found on a walking trail, where authorities believe he had fallen 75 feet off a rocky ledge.
An autopsy ruled the death accidental, but toxicology tests showed a 0.22 blood alcohol level, nearly three times the legal limit, according to a report.
King’s mother, Carol, sued the fraternity, the sorority and others alleging they plied her son with liquor as part of an initiation process. University rules prohibit students from being recruited before they earn at least 12 credits, she said in court papers.
The dead student’s estate also reached confidential settlements with the Kappa Sigma fraternity and dozens of individual defendants in recent years, according to reports.
“The jury’s award makes clear that national Greek organizations cannot turn a blind eye to rampant drinking and policy violations on college campuses,” the family’s lawyers told the Philly Voice.
The sorority decried the verdict, with Alpha Sigma Tau CEO Jordan Feldhaus calling it a “deeply concerning precedent.”
“We fundamentally disagree with this outcome and believe it both wrongly holds innocent parties responsible for circumstances beyond their control,” Feldhaus told Philly Voice.
