Nearly a year after his death, the family of Joe Pal, a 23-year-old OU rugby player killed near Campus Corner, filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Norman, local businesses and three individuals.
In an email to OU Daily Wednesday, Xavier Cullens, public information officer for the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office, wrote the district attorney’s investigation concluded with no criminal charges filed.
“The evidence presented to our office did not show that there was an act perpetrated against Mr. Pal that rose to criminal liability,” Cullens wrote. “As a result, no charges were filed.”
The lawsuit petition obtained by the Daily Wednesday names three individuals, the city of Norman, AgriBlades LLC and three Campus Corner bars: Logie’s on the Corner, The Porch and Sideline Bar and Grill.
A lawsuit petition, or complaint, is the formal document that initiates a civil lawsuit, outlining the plaintiff’s claims, factual allegations and requested relief.
The petition states on the evening of March 1, 2025, Pal went to Campus Corner with his teammates after a rugby match earlier in the day. The group arrived at Logie’s at around 11 p.m. where, according to the petition, Pal began consuming alcoholic beverages.
According to the petition, Pal began displaying visible signs of intoxication, including impaired balance and confusion, which caused Logie’s staff to require Pal to leave the premises. After leaving Logie’s, Pal went to The Porch and Sideline, where he reportedly continued to consume alcoholic beverages, according to the petition.
The lawsuit claims that all three businesses wrongfully served Pal alcoholic beverages while he was visibly intoxicated.
“The cumulative intoxication of Joe and the individual Defendants contributed to the escalation of the encounter and the events that followed,” the petition states. “As a direct and proximate result of the negligent service of alcohol, Joe sustained fatal injuries.”
The Daily obtained two police reports in August, with one describing an incident involving one 23-year-old male, three 21-year-old males and a white truck that was classified as a carjacking. The second report classified the incident as assault.
According to the petition, James Perdue and Landon Sechrist, Oklahoma State University students at the time of the incident, and Landen Hooper traveled together to Campus Corner in a white Ford F-250 pickup truck towing a commercial trailer.
According to the petition, the truck and trailer were titled, registered and insured under the name of AgriBlades LLC and were operated with the company’s knowledge and consent. The vehicle and trailer reportedly contained commercial equipment and were used in AgriBlades’ business operations.
According to a May 2025 OSU press release, Sechrist and Perdue founded and own AgriBlades, a company specializing in farm equipment blades and bearings.
The Daily reached out to Perdue and Sechrist Wednesday afternoon for a statement regarding the situation. Sechrist did not answer, but Perdue said he had been advised not to speak about the matter.
Hooper, Sechrist and Perdue parked the vehicle in the parking lot of The Revv apartments, where the incident reportedly took place, and walked to Sideline, the petition states.
While at Sideline, the lawsuit reads the group consumed alcoholic beverages and displayed observable signs of intoxication, including “belligerent behavior and impaired judgement.”
According to the petition, around 3 a.m. Pal walked toward The Revv apartments, aligning with information in the police reports.
Pal reportedly approached the white Ford F-250 and pulled on the handle of the locked rear passenger door but did not gain entry into the vehicle. Hooper, who was seated in the rear passenger seat, lowered the window and Pal asked the group for a ride.
After speaking with Pal through the open window, Hooper, Sechrist and Perdue reportedly exited the vehicle and approached Pal.
According to the petition, Hooper struck Pal in the head, causing him to fall backward and hit the back of his head on the ground. Hooper later admitted to law enforcement that he struck Pal, the petition claims and as seen in bodycam footage released by KJRH-TV.
“I overreacted, and I hit him,” Hooper told officers in the bodycam footage. The petition also contains this quote.
Pal did not strike or physically assault Hooper, Sechrist or Perdue during the exchange, the petition claims.
“Upon striking the concrete, Joe immediately lost consciousness and did not regain meaningful consciousness for the remainder of his life,” the petition reads.
Pal was reportedly bleeding from the back of his head and exhibiting abnormal breathing sounds. The petition claims when Pal later emitted a sound while unconscious, Perdue audibly laughed.
According to an autopsy report obtained by the Daily in August, Pal sustained acute blunt force trauma to his head, resulting in bleeding, brain contusions and two skull fractures. The report classifies his death as a homicide.
The petition claims it took approximately 30-40 minutes for Hooper, Sechrist or Perdue to call 911.
The petition makes references to two alleged videos filmed by Hooper, Sechrist and Perdue.
In one video, Hooper can allegedly be heard directing another individual to hide their sweatshirt. According to the footage obtained by KJRH-TV, one of the three individuals — whose faces were blurred out — was wearing a sweatshirt with the AgriBlades logo printed on it.
According to the petition, another video shows Perdue approaching Pal, lifting his head by his hair to expose the wound on the back of his head to the camera. Perdue allegedly then released Pal’s head, which caused it to fall back onto the concrete.
The Daily has not obtained nor seen these alleged videos.
Hooper placed a 911 call at 3:47 a.m., according to the petition and police reports.
Norman Police Department officers Kolton Robertson, Partick Wadsack and Mason Walker responded to a reported carjacking, the petition reports. When they arrived, officers allegedly found Pal laying on his back, unconscious and unresponsive, about 15 feet from the truck.
Officers reportedly moved Pal multiple times, lifting him into a fully seated position and rolling him on his side. Robertson instructed the other officers to find something to support Pal’s head and Wadsack reportedly walked to a nearby field and grabbed a rock, the petition states.
The petition states Walker ultimately used his boot to support Pal’s head.
According to the petition, Walker, the officer who used his boot to support Pal’s head, reportedly stated, “As long as he doesn’t bite me.”
With Pal still unresponsive, officers can be seen in the bodycam footage asking Hooper, Sechrist and Perdue if any of them filmed the exchange. In response, the 21-year-olds replied that they did after Pal was unconscious. The petition includes this interaction, but adds that one or more of the defendants and Walker were laughing. The bodycam footage posted by KJRH-TV does not show this.
According to the lawsuit, Pal did not brandish a weapon, did not enter the vehicle and did not “strike or physically touch” Hooper, Sechrist or Perdue. It also argues Pal did not present any imminent threat of harm that would trigger self-defense.
In a Monday email to the Daily, Chloe Glass, an attorney with Glass & Tabor, the firm that filed the suit, wrote the filing seeks sworn testimony, production of evidence and an examination of the response and decision-making on the night of Pal’s assault.
“The lawsuit alleges that there were preventable delays in obtaining medical assistance and that reasonable steps were not taken promptly once Jozsef was visibly in distress, …” Glass wrote. “The Pal family continues to handle this with dignity and is simply seeking a full and transparent examination of what occurred.”
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Macey Thaxton. Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
