Episode 72
March 9, 2026
Episode Summary
It was the first case tried to verdict under a Pennsylvania anti-hazing statute that allows civil remedies against Greek life organizations. The team that tried it – Helen Lawless and Mark Fuchs – visit host Brendan Lupetin to explain how they won $7.8 million. It wasn’t easy: They had to show how the college freshman ended at the bottom of a cliff with a BAC of over 0.2. And they had to deflect defense arguments that the student bore personal responsibility. For any plaintiff’s lawyer working on an anti-hazing case, this episode is a must-hear.
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- In King vs. AST Sorority et. al, Helen Lawless and Mark Fuchs represented the family of Justin King, an 18-year-old freshman at Bloomsburg University who died just two weeks into his college career after attending an alcohol-fueled party co-hosted by a fraternity and a sorority.
- This was the first case tried to verdict in Pennsylvania under the state’s anti-hazing statute, a law born by the parents of a Penn State hazing victim that allows civil remedies against individuals, organizations, and educational institutions.
- A key challenge was establishing causation without a witness to the fatal fall. The team used a digital forensics expert to track Justin’s cell phone movements and a forensic pathologist to establish time of death, creating an unbroken chain of causation.
- Helen and Mark argued that the sorority’s anti-hazing policies were “paper policies” that were never enforced: The only time national representatives visited the local sorority chapter was after Justin’s death, and they arrived with a lawyer.
- The defense’s strategy of building up a high school friend as a star witness backfired when he testified he wasn’t even in Bloomsburg the night Justin died.
- The $7.8 million verdict was apportioned 35% to the sorority, 35% to the fraternity, and 24% to Justin, with the largest damages going to lost earnings and Carol King’s companionship damages.
- The defining moment at trial came when the sorority CEO sat in silence for nearly a minute after being asked whether handing policies to college students was enough to deter hazing—and answered “No.”
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