After five months of negotiations, an Ohio University sorority has paid $25,500 in settlement money for damages caused at a winter formal.
The insurance companies for Pi Beta Phi and the Parkersburg Art Center, which hosted the event, have been negotiating a settlement since June when the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management issued the center a check for $44,296 - almost double the amount of the settlement. CNA Insurance covers the sorority.
It is not uncommon for an insurer paying a claim on a liability basis to negotiate a reduced settlement
said Diane Holley-Brown, director of communication for the West Virginia insurance board, in an e-mail.
The art center's director claims the sorority caused $46,055 in damage at its March 6 formal cost it, and accused attendees of using plates like missiles in food fights, dancing in puddles of alcohol, engaging in public sex acts and ruining tablecloths and carpeting. The art center's insurer then issued a check for $44,296 in June after the center paid a $2,500 deductible. The art center also kept the sorority's $1,200 security deposit and filed a police report one month after the event.
OU fined the sorority $290 and placed it on probation after a June hearing resulted in an inconclusive decision regarding the accuracy of the art center's allegations. The chapter was also ordered to complete 20 hours of community service.
The hearing officer didn't feel like the severity of the behavior matched what was alleged said OU Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi in a previous Post article. The severity of the sanction was reflective of the level of behavior that was believed to have occurred.
The chapter paid the $290 to the art center for cleaning fees and keg taps that attendees stole. During the hearing, the chapter only admitted to stealing keg taps, spilling at least one plate of food and strewing toilet paper and paper towels in the center's bathroom.
The national office of Pi Beta Phi said today that members of the OU chapter are committed to adhering to Pi Beta Phi policies and has previously said they believe the art center's claims were grossly exaggerated.
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Pamela Engel
