University, fraternity answer wrongful-death claim
Posted: Saturday, September 15, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The student who died in a fraternity house fire last year is at least partially to blame for his death, Nebraska Wesleyan University and the fraternity say in court filings.
The university and Phi Kappa Tau are asking a Lancaster County District Court judge to dismiss a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Ryan Stewart because of Stewart's negligence on the day of the fire.
Stewart, 19, who was from Ord, died shortly after the fire, which is believed to have started in a second-story room around 4 a.m. on Nov. 17. Three other students were hospitalized. An autopsy showed that Stewart died of smoke and soot inhalation.
In their lawsuit, James and Mary Stewart seek unspecified damages for wrongful death and $10,569 for medical and other expenses.
In the university's reply, it said: "Ryan J. Stewart failed to exercise due care for his own safety while participating in events and/or activities occurring at the Upsilon Chapter of the Phi Kappa Tau house on or around November 17, 2006."
Said the fraternity: Stewart "was negligent and/or contributorily negligent to (a) degree sufficient to bar or limit any recovery."
Neither response detailed precisely what Stewart did or failed to do that constituted negligence on his part.
Earlier this week, Brandon Lovegrove, 22, pleaded not guilty to attempted first-degree arson in connection to a fire earlier that morning at the frat house.
Lovegrove was accused of setting a calendar on fire. Another student took the burning calendar to a stairwell and stomped out the flames.
The cause of the second, fatal fire is still being investigated, but officials have said they do not believe it was set on purpose. An arson-detection dog did not find traces of flammable liquids.
Lovegrove and two other fraternity members were also charged with hazing, a misdemeanor.
A search warrant affidavit released shortly after the fire said fraternity members told authorities that fireworks were set off in or around the fraternity house shortly before the fire broke out. Investigators confiscated dozens of bottle rockets, 1.5-inch firecrackers, pop rockets and other larger fireworks. Some fireworks were also found on the grounds around the fraternity, the court document said.
The university and Phi Kappa Tau are asking a Lancaster County District Court judge to dismiss a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Ryan Stewart because of Stewart's negligence on the day of the fire.
Stewart, 19, who was from Ord, died shortly after the fire, which is believed to have started in a second-story room around 4 a.m. on Nov. 17. Three other students were hospitalized. An autopsy showed that Stewart died of smoke and soot inhalation.
In their lawsuit, James and Mary Stewart seek unspecified damages for wrongful death and $10,569 for medical and other expenses.
In the university's reply, it said: "Ryan J. Stewart failed to exercise due care for his own safety while participating in events and/or activities occurring at the Upsilon Chapter of the Phi Kappa Tau house on or around November 17, 2006."
Said the fraternity: Stewart "was negligent and/or contributorily negligent to (a) degree sufficient to bar or limit any recovery."
Neither response detailed precisely what Stewart did or failed to do that constituted negligence on his part.
Earlier this week, Brandon Lovegrove, 22, pleaded not guilty to attempted first-degree arson in connection to a fire earlier that morning at the frat house.
Lovegrove was accused of setting a calendar on fire. Another student took the burning calendar to a stairwell and stomped out the flames.
The cause of the second, fatal fire is still being investigated, but officials have said they do not believe it was set on purpose. An arson-detection dog did not find traces of flammable liquids.
Lovegrove and two other fraternity members were also charged with hazing, a misdemeanor.
A search warrant affidavit released shortly after the fire said fraternity members told authorities that fireworks were set off in or around the fraternity house shortly before the fire broke out. Investigators confiscated dozens of bottle rockets, 1.5-inch firecrackers, pop rockets and other larger fireworks. Some fireworks were also found on the grounds around the fraternity, the court document said.
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