Hagop Partamian, father of Arman Partamian, has filed a civil lawsuit requesting damages totaling $2.5 million for the wrongful death of his son on March 1.
The lawsuit names Henrik Sukonnick, Alex Stucki, Daniel Wech, Adam Brownsten, Devin McClain and Mark Boise as student defendants, along with landlords Scott Kipphut and Scott Hilts, who owned the property at 4359 Lower Court St. where Arman died.
Sukonnick was the president of an organization known as PIGS at the time of Arman's death, Stucki and Wech were the vice presidents, and Brownsten was treasurer. McClain and Boise, two other members of the organization, were not enrolled in Geneseo.
The lawsuit alleges that Arman died as a result of following the traditions and rituals required by PIGS and that the student defendants were negligent by failing to take reasonable care of Arman. Hagop also alleges in the lawsuit that Kipphut and Hilts were negligent in failing to exercise reasonable care to guard against foreseeable dangers arising from the use of their property by PIGS.
Described in the lawsuit are events leading up to Arman's death, including a series of events in which he and two other recruits were instructed to drink beer and hard liquor. Allegedly, these rituals led to his becoming intoxicated, entering a state of unconsciousness and eventually dying of acute alcohol poisoning.
"Had Arman received appropriate medical attention during the evening of February 28, he would have survived unharmed," the lawsuit states.
Hagop is suing the student defendants on counts of wrongful death for negligence, assumed duty and duty to prevent harm. He is also suing Kipphut and Hilts for failing to monitor the PIGS property and for violating New York Real Property Law Section 231, which prohibits open parties. Finally, Partamian is suing all defendants for the conscious pain and suffering sustained by Arman in the hours before his death. The damages reach a collective $2.5 million.
Last month, Wech pleaded guilty to the criminal charge of unlawfully dealing with a child; Stucki and McClain still face charges of criminally negligent homicide.
The full lawsuit is available at http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/10/07/Queens%20Hazing.pdf.