Defendants in Andrew Coffey Hazing Death Sent Back to Trial Court to Face Felony Charges

Tim Burke, Manley Burke LPA, tburke@manleyburke.com At the party, the victim’s Big Brother provided him with “a family bottle” of bourbon and told him that it was an expectation to finish the family bottle. Many Pledges drank to the point...
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Emotional Support Bunny Case Has Settled

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke LPA, ilana.linder@manleyburke.com Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity (“AOPi”) and Alpha Omicron Pi Properties, Inc. (“AOPi Properties”) have agreed to amend the sorority’s no-pet policy as part of a settlement related to a federal discrimination lawsuit filed against...
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FIRE Responds to Ohio University’s Unconstitutional Restrictions

Tim Burke, Manley Burke LPA, tburke@manleyburke.com The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) weighed in on how Ohio University [OU] initially handled its broad investigation into alleged instances of misconduct by fraternities, three sororities, the University band, and its...
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Pennsylvania Appellate Court Issues Two Decisions Protecting Fraternity Houses from New Zoning Requirements

Tim Burke, Manley Burke LPA, tburke@manleyburke.com Increasingly, local zoning codes are being used to attempt to close fraternity and sorority chapter houses. In recent years, some municipalities have added provisions to their zoning codes defining fraternity and sorority houses as...
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Details Emerge on Bogenberger Settlement

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com In its January 2019 issue, Fraternal Law reported on the settlement in the case of the David Bogenberger hazing death in an article entitled, “Largest Ever Settlement Reached in Hazing Case.”[1] After six years of...
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Ohio University’s Effort to Eliminate Hazing Ignores the Rights of its Students

Tim Burke, Manley Burke LPA, tburke@manleyburke.com “…THE GROUP IS NOT TO MEET IN ANY CAPACITY, officially or unofficially. This includes organizational meetings, meetings of the executive board, organizational programming, social events, philanthropic events, and any trip or travel. This also includes...
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Criminal Charges Filed Against Five Fraternity Members

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke LPA, ilana.linder@fraternallaw.com Although no evidence of hazing was found surrounding the death of an eighteen-year-old UC Irvine freshman who died after attending his fraternity’s “Big Brother Night,” five members of the fraternity have now been criminally...
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Arming Your Organization Against Fraud

Lauren Kreutzinger, VonLehman CPA & Advisory Firm, lkreutzinger@vlcpa.com Fraud does not discriminate. Any organization, big or small, is susceptible to fraud and the financial loss, headaches, and embarrassment that inevitably follows. Recently, a well-known fraternal organization fell victim to fraud...
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New Overtime Regulations Increasing Salary Threshold Become Final

John Christopher, Manley Burke LPA, john.christopher@fraternallaw.com On September 24, 2019, the proposed Department of Labor rules modifying overtime pay became final. The new rules will be effective January 1, 2020. Among other items, the new rule updates the salary and...
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Are Membership Dues and Tuition Considered Consumer Merchandise?

Ilana L. Linder, Manley Burke LPA, ilana.linder@manleyburke.com The families of two of the five Truman State University (TSU) students who committed suicide have filed a lawsuit against the University, the Alpha Kappa Lambda (AKL) fraternity, and Brandon Grossheim, a former...
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