lawsuit in λχα party fight draws conflicting account

A fight at the Lambda Chi Alpha house at Elon University in North Carolina on 3 February 2007 left John Lee Mynhardt paralyzed from the neck down. Two years later, almost to the day, he is filing a lawsuit for personal injury and negligence against the brothers who allegedly assaulted him, their chapter, the university, and the national fraternity. In his complaint, he admits crashing an "informal fraternity party" to which he had not invited, though he calls it "ostensibly open." Once there, he claims that several brothers informed him that he was not welcome, physically attempted to eject him from their property, and that in the ensuing struggle, the brothers "either fell or threw" him to the floor, resulting in his quadriplegia. Brother John Ferrell Cassady and Clinton Joseph Blackburn, of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, would later be charged with felonious assault, though nothing has yet been proven.

Mr Mynhardt's theory of liability for the chapter, university, and national simply asserts that they should have exerted greater oversight over the brothers who assaulted him, and that their negligence resulted in his injuries. A pretty weak claim—though he does allege that he was being given the bum rush "to comply with fraternity policy," which might make some hay if at all true.

The defendants in the suit tell a rather different story, which casts Mr Mynhardt as an unwelcome and belligerent drunk who assaulted members when they insisted he leave the premises. They say that his injuries were caused when Mr Blackburn tried to restrain Mr Mynhardt from a confrontation with Mr Cassady; as Mr Mynhardt continued to struggle, the two fell to the floor. Mr Mynhardt at least concedes that he was intoxicated at the party, though he denies starting any fights.

The uncontroverted facts indicate (a) that Mr Mynhardt was inebriated, and (b) that he was trespassing—whether from the start, by attending a party uninvited, or when he failed to quit the premises on being directed to leave. Drunken trespassers do not always find the legal system breaking in their favor, but Mr Mynhardt seems determined to try.

Burlington Times-News