LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Student Alcohol Death
Lawrence, NJ: (Apr-11-08) The family of Gary DeVercelly Jr. brought a lawsuit against Michael Torney, the former president of a fraternity at Rider University, after the boy drank himself to death in 2007. The suit stated that DeVercelly, an 18-year-old freshman from Long Beach, CA, was a pledge at Phi Kappa Tau, a fraternity at Rider University, when he attended a party there on March 28, 2007. Reports and witness testimonies reveal that he drank himself to death, drinking most of a bottle of vodka.
Hospital documents show that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.426%, which is more than five times New Jersey's legal limit for driving, at the time that he was pronounced dead March 30, 08 at a Trenton hospital. The suit charged two Rider administrators in the deaths along with Torney and two other students. Court records show that the charges against the officials at the private central New Jersey College were eventually dropped. The other students pleaded guilty and entered a pretrial intervention program that could keep their records clean.
As part of a recent development, sources stated that Michael Torney, a 22-year-old from Randolph, who previously rejected plea deals, agreed to pay $150,000 to the family of Gary DeVercelly Jr., resolving allegations. Additionally, he also agreed to provide the family with information to pursue their civil lawsuit against the university, the fraternity and others over Gary DeVercelly Jr.'s death. Torney's legal counsel stated that he was not in the room with DeVercelly and did not supply alcohol for the party. [ACTION NEWS: SETTLEMENT IN ALCOHOL POISONING DEATH CASE AT RIDER]
Published on Apr-14-08
Hospital documents show that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.426%, which is more than five times New Jersey's legal limit for driving, at the time that he was pronounced dead March 30, 08 at a Trenton hospital. The suit charged two Rider administrators in the deaths along with Torney and two other students. Court records show that the charges against the officials at the private central New Jersey College were eventually dropped. The other students pleaded guilty and entered a pretrial intervention program that could keep their records clean.
As part of a recent development, sources stated that Michael Torney, a 22-year-old from Randolph, who previously rejected plea deals, agreed to pay $150,000 to the family of Gary DeVercelly Jr., resolving allegations. Additionally, he also agreed to provide the family with information to pursue their civil lawsuit against the university, the fraternity and others over Gary DeVercelly Jr.'s death. Torney's legal counsel stated that he was not in the room with DeVercelly and did not supply alcohol for the party. [
Legal Help
If you have a similar problem and would like to be contacted by a lawyer at no cost or obligation, please click the link below.Published on Apr-14-08
