The parents of the University student who died during the Kappa Alpha hayride last September have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Nicholls State University, the University of Louisiana System, Epsilon Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha order and several other entities.
The lawsuit, filed by Wilfred and Rosemary Trepagnier in the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge on Sept. 23, states that members of the Epsilon Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha provided alcoholic beverages and illicit recreational drugs to its underage members, including the couple’s son, Nathan Trepagnier. Fraternity members allegedly provided the substances to the underage members prior to the start of the University homecoming parade, which took place at 11 a.m., nearly four hours before his death at 2:40 p.m.
According to the lawsuit, Trepagnier fell off of the Kappa Alpha float/trailer, was crushed and died of injuries to his abdomen and chest. He was transported to Thibodaux Regional Medical Center at approximately 2:40 p.m. where he was pronounced dead, State Police have said.
The Lafourche Parish Coroner’s Office revealed one month after the accident that Trepagnier was three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit of .08 and had the anti-anxiety drug Valium in his system.
Trepagnier was a 19-year-old sophomore from New Orleans majoring in history. He served as the secretary of the Epsilon Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha.
Trepagnier’s parents claim in the lawsuit that their son was “wrongfully ‘hazed’ ” by members of Epsilon Beta and included but was not limited to “coercing Nathan Trepagnier to drink alcoholic beverages at certain homecoming activities throughout the day of September 25, 2010, forcing him to ‘chug’ large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time during the Nicholls State homecoming parade and to further ingest illicit recreational drugs.”
The Epsilon Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha allegedly failed to follow and enforce Kappa Alpha’s published alcohol, drug and anti-hazing policies, to prevent any member from participating or encouraging hazing activities, to prevent loading alcoholic beverages and illicit drugs onto the float/trailer and adhere to stated policies on serving or consuming alcoholic beverages at University homecoming activities. The Epsilon Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha also allegedly failed to order and/or obtain any beverages for homecoming activities from an authorized university food service contractor.
According to the lawsuit, the University failed to follow and enforce its published alcohol and drug policies. It also states that the University failed to require floats/trailers to be fully equipped with proper and adequate safety measures, despite the fact that University representatives met on September 15, 2010 to discuss the safety concerns “associated with the use of trailers as floats during the homecoming parade.” The University also allegedly failed to prohibit serving or consuming alcoholic beverages at homecoming activities or loading alcohol or illicit drugs onto the float/trailer. It is also alleged that the University failed to require that the fraternity properly apply for a permit to participate in the homecoming activities, as stated in its policies.
University law enforcement allegedly failed to prevent illicit drug consumption, to properly escort and supervise fraternity members on the float/trailer, to check members for proper proof of legal drinking age and to “band” legal drinking guests.
Other defendants in the lawsuit are the Kappa Alpha order, Inc., two insurance companies and John Doe, an unnamed Epsilon Beta chapter member.
University officials said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
