HomeMy WebLinkAboutBonfire Lawsuit 11/30/04
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I Bonftre lawsuit
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i partially settled
l By CRAIG KAPITAN
Eagle Staff Writer
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'in early September, the
details weren't ironed out
until this week, said Darrell
The insurance companies Keith, an attorney for the
of 25 former Texas A&M Uni- families of three students
versity students will be pay- who died and two who were
,ing a combined $4.25 million'uuur:ed. ,
in exchange for being. He said word, of the settle-
dropped from a ,Bonfrre-relat- ment purposely was given to
ed lawsuit, attorneys said the Fort Worth Star-
Friday., Telegram on Thursday,
The settlement announce- ,knowing that the news
ment - which came' five' wouldn't come out until Fri-
years and one day after the day - after ceremonies com-
collapse that killed 12 Aggies memorating the collapse
and injured 27 others - had were concluded:
been several months in the "My clients wished to
making, said Dallas-based attend the [Bonfire Memori-
defense attorney Charles all dedication ceremony and
Aris, who represents four of focus on that very sad day,
the former red pots. honor their slain sons and
"For some reason, the tim- deal with the grief without
ing appealed to them," he the distraction of dealing
said Friday of the announce- with the settlement issue," he
ment, which was made said
through the plaintiffs' attor- Keith declined to comment
neys. Friday on how the $4.25 mil-
While a preliminary settle- ," . ; _
ment had been agreed upon :Bee LAWSUIT, Page A6
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Lawsuit
wanted, to put it behind
them," ~~ said of the red pots,
adding that he doubted a jury
would have found' fault with
the students had the case gone
to trial. , l
Of the remaining student
leaders who decided not to set-
tle, only two or three of them
have homeowners insurance,
Aris said, explaining that the
others "really couldn't settle
because they didn't have any
money."
Keith disagreed with the
defense's assessment of how
the students would have fared
during the trial, adding that
I lion would be distributed
among his clients and two
other families.
But the homeowners insur-
ance companies used by the
I parents of the 25 student
defendants will pay different
amounts depending on indi-
I vidual policies, Aris said.
Even after the partial settle-
ment, 10 red pots and 26 other
defendants - including a
variety of A&M administra-
tors and a company that pro- .
vided a crane for the massive
student project - remain in
litigation. The case is set to go
to trial in Brazos County in
March, assuming it isn't set-
tled before then. Mediation
with the remaining partici-
pants continues, attorneys
said.
A&M officials and their
attorneys have declined to
comment on the pending liti-
gation.
It was ultimately the insur-
ance companies that decided
to settle, although the stu-
overwhelming evidence had
been gathered to show they
were negligent.
"They are' young adults but
they are accountable," he said,
explaining that if they had been
brought up on criminal
charges, they also would have
been held accountable as
adults. "Civil law is no excep-
tion."
However, university admin-
istrators and the crane opera-
tor had even more responsi-
bility in the tragedy, he said
Friday, referring to those still
left in the lawsuit.
Keith on Friday also point-
ed his finger at A&M Presi-
dent Robert Gates for repeat-
ing recently that the universi-
ty won't consider reinstating
the Bonfire tradition until the
lawsuits are resolved. Bonfire
can continue if done in a safe
manner, he said.
"I believe that is a strategic
ploy by the A&M administra-
tion to blame the families ...
for putting off the building of
Bonfire," he said. "That is
absurd. He's trying to preju-
dice the jury pool."
. Craig Kapitan's e-mail address
is ckapitan@theeagle.com.
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