Fraternity named in Scrocca lawsuit

A university fraternity's national organization is facing accusations that the chapter recklessly served alcohol at parties and used the substance to recruit members, a factor that contributed to a student's death, a federal lawsuit filed last month shows.

The family of Michael Scrocca, a senior finance major who died when an angry student set fire to his fraternity satellite house after a large party in April 2005, and his roommate Stephen "Tex" Aarons, is suing his former fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, accusing it of harboring a chaotic environment at a house party the night Scrocca died. But the charges press beyond Scrocca's death, alleging that despite the fatal fire, Delta Tau Delta continues to promote drinking as the cornerstone of a fraternity whose motto is "committed to lives of excellence."

The suit questions whether fraternities and sororities nationwide promote community service and leadership, as many claim to do.

"Countless young people are killed and maimed every year as a direct result of drinking at such fraternity parties," the Scroccas' lawsuit states. "In addition ... enormous property damage and other dire social costs and consequences arise from the use of alcohol at such parties."

The student who started the fire that killed Scrocca, former cell biology and molecular genetics major Daniel Murray, 21, was sentenced to 37-and-a-half years in prison last month. Although he was not drinking at the party the night of the fire, he was teased by party-goers there while passing the Scrocca's Princeton Avenue home on his way from a bar.

Scrocca's family and Aarons, who was injured in the fire, charged that the party's drunken atmosphere led to the night's tragedy.

In a complaint filed with the court, the plaintiff alleged the fraternity is aware that alcohol is "virtually expected" at their parties despite the fact that it "leads to conduct which is illegal, anti-social and dangerous," adjectives that echo the way a county judge described Murray's actions at his sentencing.

The documents also claim the fraternity has a financial incentive to promote drinking to minors because it recruits freshmen and sophomores who pay dues if they join the organization. The plaintiff accused the fraternity of paying for alcohol the night Scrocca died.

Four kegs and several cases of malt liquor were found at the scene of the fire, but the attorneys for the fraternity have denied in court documents that the house party was an official fraternity function.

Attorneys on both sides did not return calls, and a court date has not yet been set. A Delta Tau Delta spokesman and the parents of Scrocca declined to comment. Another lawsuit, which names the College Park Fire Department and Scrocca's landlord, David Model, as defendants, is pending. A trial has been set.

The case will most likely come down to whether the alcohol was purchased with fraternity money or students' own pocket cash, George Washington University law professor Roger Trangsrud said.

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life two years ago launched an investigation that concluded the chapter did not sponsor alcohol consumption the night Scrocca died, OFSL Assistant Director of Advising and Programming Matt Supple said. But he added that the office's review was brief and that they left the majority of the investigating to police.

Regardless, University of Maryland law professor Oscar Gray said according to a legal precedent recognized in Maryland courts, bartenders are not held responsible for the illegal actions that result from serving alcohol to minors or those already drunk. The same logic would probably apply to the fraternity, he said.

Still, he added that especially if the plaintiff proves the fraternity served alcohol to minors, a judge might be inclined to accept exceptions to this traditional liability precedent.

"The nastiness of the conduct really gets judges to a tipping point about whether they'd be willing to try exceptions to the no-liability doctrine," he said. "If the fraternity had actual knowledge that it had minors in the room, then it doesn't deserve any kind of break."

Contact reporter Ben Slivnick at slivnickdbk@gmail.com.