Skip to main content

Fireworks Fraternity's $10M Lawsuit Against Miami Univ. Fizzles

By Andrew Lu on September 06, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Anyone and everyone can bring a lawsuit. Just ask the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, the "fireworks fraternity" at Miami University in Ohio that had the gall to sue the university for $10 million after it was shut down following a slew of explosive criminal allegations.

Two weeks ago, the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity was allegedly involved in an epic fireworks fight with a rival fraternity. As if this wasn't bad enough, after cops came a-knocking, the police found not only a cache of fireworks, but also a cache of illegal drugs and related paraphernalia, reports the Dayton Daily News.

As a result, Miami University shut the fireworks fraternity down, forcing the frat members to live in campus housing.

In this age of entitlement -- including apparently the entitlement to shoot fireworks at rival fraternities and to take illegal drugs -- Phi Kappa Tau sued Miami University, claiming the frat suffered damages through lost rent at the frat house, reports the Daily News.

But the fraternity apparently came to its senses and dropped its lawsuit. Or did they?

Of course not! Phi Kappa Tau reportedly dropped its lawsuit "without prejudice," meaning that it can revive the lawsuit at any time. The legal "strategy" for the frat appears to be to let the criminal case run its course, and then revive the civil lawsuit against the school, reports the Daily News.

Otherwise, the fraternity could find itself in the awkward position of being a defendant in a criminal matter, while also being a plaintiff in a civil action.

So the fireworks fraternity that sued Miami University may just be waiting for a more opportune moment so it can fire off its lawsuit again. We're still scratching our heads as to why the university would owe the frat any money when actions by the frat's own members led the school to shut it down.

As with most things that happen at a frat house, this lawsuit doesn't seem to make too much sense.

[Editor's Note, 9/10/12: Phi Kappa Tau's $10 million lawsuit against Miami University is still pending and has not been dropped, the Associated Press reports. A "clerical mistake" led to erroneous reporting, a court official told the AP.]

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard