WILLIAMSPORT – Parents who took legal action against a Penn State University fraternity following their son’s death at its chapter house were denied an opportunity to lift a discovery stay on two of the defendant fraternity members.
James and Evelyn Piazza first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Jan. 31, 2019 versus St. Moritz Security Company, Inc. and 28 members of Beta Theta Pi’s Alpha Upsilon Chapter at Penn State.
The Piazzas argued that the defendant fraternity members were negligent when they failed to help their son, Timothy Piazza, who died not long after he fell down the stairs at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s chapter house during Bid Acceptance Night in February 2017.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Judge Matthew W. Brann partially granted dismissal motions brought on behalf of many of the defendants on Aug. 27, 2019, but provided the plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint, which they proceeded to do.
As part of Brann’s prior ruling, he ordered that a stay of discovery be imposed as to defendants Brendan Young and Daniel Casey, since parallel criminal proceedings involving the pair were pending at that time.
Despite the three-and-a-half years which have elapsed since Brann’s prior decision, those proceedings continue to remain pending.
It is primarily for that reason that Brann dismissed the Piazzas’ attempt to lift the discovery stay, in a memorandum opinion issued on Feb. 14.
“Although three-and-a-half years have transpired since the Court stayed discovery as to Young and Casey, there has been seemingly little progress in their respective criminal cases. Young and Casey obtained a favorable ruling on a motion to suppress certain cellphone evidence, and a circuitous series of appeals followed. As it currently stands, Young and Casey are awaiting a ruling by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania,” Brann said.
“As Young and Casey note, since this Court issued the discovery stay in August 2019, nothing has changed ‘other than the passage of time.’ As such, all considerations justifying the initial stay remain: Young and Casey ‘are well past the indictment stage’ in their respective criminal prosecutions, and the civil and criminal cases are virtually identical, as ‘both cases seek to hold [Young and Casey] liable for the conduct they allegedly engaged in on Bid Acceptance Night.’ The question, then, is whether the prolonged delay of the criminal proceedings overrides those initial considerations. The Court finds it does not.”
Brann added that the Piazzas’ arguments for lifting the stay only serve to “reinforce the Court’s initial reservations.”
“According to the Piazzas, they ask only for permission to ‘seek written and oral discovery from defendants Young and Casey, while affording Young and Casey all privileges available to law.’ The Piazzas thus acknowledge that if the stay is lifted, Young and Casey will likely decline to provide discovery or sit for depositions, opting instead to invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,” Brann said.
“Given the Piazzas’ contention that a failure to receive discovery from Young and Casey has ‘fundamentally changed the equitable relationship between the parties,’ resulting in ‘ongoing harm” that “grows every day,’ Young’s and Casey’s invocations of their respective rights under the Fifth Amendment will undoubtedly set off another round of discovery disputes. These disputes can be avoided altogether by simply staying discovery until the criminal proceedings have advanced. The Court deemed that preferable in 2019. It remains preferable today.”
While Brann offered sympathy to the plaintiffs, he contended that their attempt to lift the stay of discovery would cause “undue prejudice” to defendants Young and Casey.
“The Piazzas are understandably frustrated by the pace of Young’s and Casey’s criminal proceedings and the resultant delays in this parallel civil action. It has been six years since their son died at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on Penn State’s campus. And more than five-and-a-half years have passed since the Commonwealth first brought criminal charges against Young and Casey for their conduct related to Timothy Piazza’s death,” Brann stated.
“But neither Young nor Casey have faced trial for those charges. And given the overlap between this case and the ongoing criminal actions, requiring Young and Casey to provide discovery and sit for depositions in this matter creates a real risk of undue prejudice. The Piazzas’ frustrations over the delays, however justified, do not override this risk of prejudice to Young and Casey. Accordingly, their motion to lift the stay is denied.”
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 4:19-cv-00180
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com