EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – The family of a deceased Michigan State University student is filing a lawsuit against 17 named people and 50 unnamed people.
Phat Nguyen, an MSU student, died on November 20, 2021, after drinking too much alcohol at a frat party.
Around 2 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2021, East Lansing police arrived at the 400 block of Stoddard Ave. to find four people passed out.
Phat Nguyen was one of those four people, and he was not breathing. Officers and medical workers from the East Lansing Fire Department (ELFD) tried administering CPR, but Phat Nguyen was unable to be revived.
Nguyen’s death caused the frat to be suspended, and three people were charged in relation to his death.
Now, his family is suing 17 named people for Nguyen’s death. The suit also includes 50 “John & Jane Doe” defendants, presumably other attendees of the party.
According to the suit, Nguyen was attending a party ran by an Asian-American fraternity that he was pledging towards.
The party was allegedly a “blackout party,” where frat members try to get pledges as drunk as possible so they black out.
According to the suit, partygoers could be heard saying the following quotes to pledges:
- “You’re going to die tonight!”
- “Keep going, keep going!”
- “He’s so dead! I’m so happy!”
- “He’s dying!”
The frat members would also allegedly hit unconscious pledges and scream obscenities to wake them up.
The suit also claims that, after Nguyen blacked out and urinated on himself, frat members began shoving Cheerios in his mouth, nose and pants, drew on him with Sharpies, and took videos while doing so.
According to the suit, partygoers:
- Wrote, “insert here” on Phat’s abdomen, and drew an arrow pointing to his crotch.
- Drew a penis and testicles on his right forearm.
- Wrote, “suck me mommy,” and drew a penis and testicles on his left forearm.
- Wrote, ” F*ck U!” on his upper left arm.
- Wrote, ” F*ck U,” “B*tch. F*ck You,” “simp,” and “f*ggot” among other insults and obscenities.
- Drew a picture of penis and testicles, on his back.
Someone finally called 911 nearly two hours after Nguyen passed out. When officers arrived, they said there was vomit covering the room, as well as multiple empty liquor bottles.
Nguyen wasn’t breathing. Police attempted life-saving measures, but unfortunately, Nguyen was pronounced dead shortly after.
Three other pledges were taken to the hospital.
The attorney for Andrew Neguyn, a defendant in the case, released the following statement:
“Bad things happened at that get-together, I don’t know that fault can necessarily be pinned on one or two people. So we’ll see. Again on the one hand I see completely what the family needs to do on the other, both civilly and criminally you need to show Mr. Neguyn’s culpability and I’m not sure if that’s there,” Attorney Brian Morely said.
Phat was a devoted and beloved son, brother, and grandson. He was an outstanding student and a wonderful young man who treated everyone with respect and kindness. His senseless death has devastated our family. Although nothing will bring Phat back to us, we are hopeful that our lawsuit and the criminal process will deliver some measure of justice and accountability for his loss. Our family remains in mourning. And we continue to struggle with the still unimaginable reality of a world without Phat. We ask that the media respect our family’s privacy and direct all questions and inquiries to our attorneys at The Fierberg National Law Group.
The attorneys representing the Nguyen family.
You can read the suit in its entirety here.
