A former OU student has filed a personal injury complaint against Beta Theta Pi fraternity and two of its members involved in an alleged hazing incident and its subsequent cover-up.
Former OU student Blake Novacek filed the petition in Tulsa County Court Sept. 29, 2017 in connection to an October 2015 incident in which he claims to have suffered “serious bodily injury” when struck by a bat and knocked unconscious during a fraternity initiation ritual, court documents show.
The petition calls for punitive damages against OU students Shane Muselmann and Gavin Martindale, Beta Theta Pi Corporation of Oklahoma, the OU chapter of Beta Theta Pi and Beta Theta Pi, all accused of negligence and civil conspiracy.
Muselmann and Martindale are also accused of intentional infliction of emotional distress, in addition to Beta Theta Pi, BTP corporation and the local chapter being accused of vicarious liability and negligence, according to court documents.
The petition alleges that Novacek, a Beta Theta Pi pledge at the time of the incident, was called to the fraternity house, where more than 100 members and alumni were gathered, with other pledges in the early morning hours of Oct. 11, 2015.
The fraternity members allegedly blindfolded the pledges, put pillowcases over their heads and took them to individual members' rooms within the fraternity house.
Novacek was allegedly taken to the room of Muselmann, a member since January 2015 and current leader within the chapter, who was allegedly “heavily intoxicated” at the time of the incident. Muselmann showed him a video of hogs being slaughtered and asked him to recite “pledge facts,” according to the petition.
When Novacek could not recall the information, Muselmann allegedly “became enraged” and swung a baseball bat into Novacek’s abdomen. Novacek was knocked unconscious when he fell backward and hit his head on a hard object, and woke up hours later on a couch, according to court documents.
Martindale, a Beta Theta Pi fraternity member since January 2015, allegedly told Novacek “to keep his mouth shut” about the incident, or the fraternity would "ruin his and his family's reputation, damage his property and have him kicked out of school," the petition states.
Several months later, the fraternity’s pledge class president asked Novacek not to file a report about the incident, to which Novacek agreed. His car was then vandalized the next day, according to the petition.
The petition alleges that Beta Theta Pi “tolerates hazing ceremonies among its chapters and has failed to act to prevent pledges from being injured by fraternity hazing.”
The court documents says that the defendants’ negligence caused “serious bodily injury, such as traumatic brain injury, physical pain and suffering, permanent disability, past and future medical expenses, past and future emotional distress and loss of wages and future earning capacity.”
The petition states that the actions of the two fraternity members were “atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.”
Muselmann said the lawsuit was a surprise that he intends to refute.
"This suit and these allegations came as a complete surprise to me," Muselmann said in an email statement. "The allegations against me are completely false, and I have no idea why they are being made. I intend to aggressively fight this suit and defend my reputation."
Martindale also said the suit was unexpected and unfounded, and he will be seeking defense.
"I’m bewildered by this lawsuit," Martindale said in an email. "The allegations are entirely untrue, and I’m mystified why this person is making these claims against me. To be honest, I’m angry about this, and I will be hiring a lawyer to aggressively defend me against these baseless accusations."
Zach Allen, president of the housing corporation for Beta Theta Pi at the University of Oklahoma, said in an email that the group had not heard of the allegations until Oct. 2 and plans to contest the lawsuit.
“While we are mystified by the plaintiff’s motivations, we do firmly believe that the subject allegations are false and that the suit’s claims are entirely without merit,” Allen said in the email. “We are offended by the allegations, we intend to vigorously contest this action by all legal means at our disposal, and we are confident of vindication.”
Update: This story was updated at 2:45 p.m. to reflect the statements provided by two defendants in this case.
