Owners of banned fraternity house sue Penn State

More than two years after the February 2017 death of Timothy Piazza, a Penn State student who died of injuries he sustained during an alcohol-fueled fraternity pledge event, the lawsuits just keep coming.

The Associated Press is reporting the fraternity corporation that owns the shuttered Beta Theta Pi fraternity house is suing the university.

The suit claims Penn State banned the organization in order to obtain the sprawling house that sits on choice real estate in the middle of the campus. The report said the suit, filed last week in federal court, charged that the university failed to follow proper guidelines in banning the fraternity and made it a scapegoat for a campus culture of drinking and partying.

The lawsuit is just the latest development in the high-profile case that garnered national headlines.

Piazza’s parents Jim and Evelyn Piazza, who took up a national crusade against such events following the young man’s death, settled with Penn State out of court earlier this year. They later filed wrongful death suits against members of the now-defunct fraternity.

Multiple members of the fraternity were charged criminally in connection with the event that led to Piazza’s death.

Many opted to enter guilty pleas to reduced charges of alcohol violations or hazing.

Last month, the manager of the fraternity house was convicted of hindering apprehension, but acquitted of tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice, following a criminal trial. Authorities alleged Braxton Becker deleted security camera footage of the event that led to Piazza’s death.

Penn State moved to adopt new guidelines for Greek life in the wake of Piazza’s death, as the state passed a stricter anti-hazing law.