Statesman: Searching To Place Blame
When Amanda Andaverde of Caldwell fell 25 feet from a third-floor fraternity room window, suffering serious injuries, who was at fault? Through their lawyers, Raul Andaverde and Esmerelda Banda seek to place the blame all over the map:
- They say the University of Idaho and the State Board of Education failed to adequately supervise the U of I’s fraternity houses.
- They say the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house is unsafe, since it allowed Amanda Andaverde to roll out of a bed to the concrete surface below.
- They say sisters from her Delta Delta Delta sorority should have prevented Andaverde, then 19, from drinking at frat parties on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10, 2009. Andaverde had reportedly been drinking at two parties before the accident.
The family says it will settle with the various parties for $1 million. The deadline: June 15. We often argue that a public entity is best off settling a lawsuit, rather than spending taxpayer dollars on a protracted legal process. This is not such an instance/Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Should the UIdaho try to settle this suit?