Three business entities associated with a college fraternity are seeking dismissal of all or some of the claims against them in a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted while intoxicated during a party near USC in 2020, arguing that the trio was unaware the event would be held or that the woman would be in any danger.
The plaintiff is identified only as Jane Doe in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit brought against Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity, Mu Theta Chapter at USC, Sam National Properties LLC, Sam Property Management LLC, Sam USC Housing, USC Housing LLC, Jero Enterprises Inc. — which does business as Brad Management — and Doe’s alleged assailant, Peter Hwang.
Attorneys for the three Sam companies, who manage, own or lease the property where the party was held, filed court papers Friday with Judge Elaine Lu asking that the claims against their clients be dismissed in whole or in part. A hearing is scheduled for April 19.
“Despite her attempt to overly complicate things, however, this lawsuit is quite simple – – plaintiff drank too much alcohol with her friends, went to a college fraternity party and is now claiming that she did not consent to the sexual activity that she engaged in that evening at the party,” the Sam lawyers maintain in their court papers.
Doe is using a “shotgun approach to litigation” in alleging that several corporate entities associated with a men’s college fraternity, some of which are based thousands of miles away in Indiana, were negligent for failing to prevent the alleged crime that night, the Sam attorneys further argue.
Doe was a minor at the time, traveled from Orange County to Los Angeles and continued to drink alcohol at the party, the Sam attorneys contend.
Even though she allegedly was the victim of a violent crime, Doe returned to the chapter house less than 24 hours later to get her identification that had been left on the gymnasium floor, the Sam lawyers maintain in their court papers.
But the Sam entities are immune from liability and the alleged rape of Doe by Hwang was not foreseeable, the Sam attorneys state. Doe, who is 5-feet-3 inches tall and weights 135 pounds, and a girlfriend were both drunk when they arrived at the Mu Theta party on Jan. 25, 2020, the suit acknowledges.
“At the time that she entered the party, plaintiff was underage and a virgin for religious reasons,” the suit filed in December 2021 states. “Specifically, she had committed to waiting to have sex until she was married. Even though plaintiff had previously had boyfriends for more than a year at a time, she did not have sex since she was waiting until marriage.”
Doe continued to consume alcohol at the party and became so drunk she did not know where she was and was unable to consent to sex, the suit states.
Hwang, a Mu Theta Chapter member, was sober and had never met Doe before when he used a martial arts move to subdue her after forcing her into a gymnasium, pushed her face onto a mat on the floor and sexually assaulted her, the suit alleges.
Doe suffered a swollen, black eye, hand and fingerprint marks on her shoulders and arms, abrasions and scratch marks on her arms and a urinary tract infection, according to the suit. She eventually got up and left the gym, but vomited through the night, the suit states.
In addition, several USC students urged Doe not to seek criminal charges because the fraternity “has fun parties and her doing so would shut the fraternity down,” according to the complaint.
USC’s Title IX investigator found Hwang violated the university’s sexual violence and sexual assault harassment policy and the school’s student code of conduct and he was dismissed from USC in July 2020, the suit states.
Doe has difficulty sleeping and experiences nightmares about the alleged sexual assault and the subsequent teasing and bullying, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff receives counseling in order to cope with the trauma.