OREGON AMENDS HAZING STATUTE

Daniel McCarthy, Manley Burke The Oregon legislature recently passed, and Governor Ted Kulongoski signed, Senate Bill 444, which amends Oregon’s hazing statute, found at O.R.S. 163.197.  The statute changed the definition of “haze” by adding numerous specific activities that are...
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SIGMA CHI AND ITS UGA CHAPTER SUED BY INJURED GUEST; INSURER FILES SUIT FOR DECLARATION OF NON-COVERAGE OF INSURANCE

Daniel McCarthy, Manley Burke On April 9, 2009, a lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, against Sigma Chi, its Delta Chapter at the University of Georgia, Sigma Chi’s Risk Management Foundation, the Delta Chapter House...
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AKA NATIONAL PRESIDENT SUED BY MEMBERS

Dan McCarthy, Manley Burke This summer, eight members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sued their international president, Barbara McKinzie, and some current and former members of the organization’s board of directors in Washington D.C. Superior Court.  The suit seeks the removal...
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MEDICINAL MARIJUANA IN A CHAPTER HOUSE?

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com California leads the nation in allowing the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana for medical-related purposes.  Even though members of a fraternity may have complied with California law for the purpose of possessing...
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TAX RETURN REDUX Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love the New Form 990

Sean Callan, Dinsmore & Shohl For several years, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") has worked to redesign the Form 990 annual tax return filed by tax exempt organizations ("TEOs"), including fraternities, sororities and their foundations.  The redesign process was based...
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FAMILY SUES UTAH STATE; STUDENTS SENTENCED

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com As reported in the January 2009 issue of Fraternal Law, the death of Michael Starks at Utah State University led to criminal charges being filed against two fraternities and members of both of those chapters....
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