Judge: Mother Can Sue Frat Members Involved In Son’s Death

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — A judge has ruled that four fraternity members could be held responsible for the death of a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student, killed by a pledge they hazed.

Judge Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux reversed an exemption ruling that said four Kappa Sigma Fraternity-Epsilon-Chi members couldn't be individually sued for the 2016 death of Rustam Nizamutdinova.

Thibodeaux said the four were negligent and could be held responsible.

News outlets report Nizamutdinova was struck by a car driven by Michael Gallagher, who fell asleep at the wheel after being hazed and sleep-deprived for 72 hours.

Nizamutdinova's mother, Farida Shavkatova Nizamutdinova, sued the four members in 2017, but the four were granted an exemption from the lawsuit.

Thibodeaux overturned the exemption stating the four members had a duty to refrain from hazing activities.