Agreement
Reached In Fraternity Case
An agreement has been reached in a lawsuit filed against Washington and Lee University by a suspended fraternity, which was supposed to go to trial last week.
The Phi Zeta Delta Fraternity and its house corporation initially filed the lawsuit in January 2024 after the fraternity was suspended and its members ordered to vacate the premises of their Henry Street house at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
The five-year suspension came as a result of a ruling by the university’s Interfraternity Council in April 2023 following an alleged hazing incident from that February. The fraternity’s lease of the house was suspended by the university, citing a violation of the student code of conduct.
In its suit, the fraternity alleged that the university violated the lease by not giving them a hearing before the university’s Student Judicial Council where they contended they would have been afforded certain procedures that may have prevented the suspension, including a student adviser and the ability to question witnesses.
The civil case was scheduled to go to a two-day jury trial last Wednesday and Thursday, but the case was dismissed on the day before the trial was set to begin as both parties had reached an agreement.
Maya Eckstein, one of the attorneys representing the university, provided The News-Gazette with a statement on behalf of the university, which said that both parties had “reached a mutually acceptable agreement to resolve their differences and avoid the costs and risks of further litigation.”
As part of the agreement, the fraternity will abide by the ruling of the IFC, including the five-year suspension, after which it will be allowed to reorganize at the Henry Street house. The fraternity will have to meet certain conditions, but if it does, it will be able to resume operation in the fall of 2027.
“Both parties are pleased to have found a resolution that both supports the future success of the fraternity and reflects the values of the university,” the statement concluded.
