3 Defendants Settle in U. of Missouri Hazing Lawsuit

Three of the 23 defendants in a lawsuit filed after a University of Missouri fraternity party left a student with serious brain injuries have reached a settlement.

The attorney for the family of Daniel Santulli, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, filed a motion Wednesday to approve settlements with Collin Clark, Chris Palermo and Jeffrey Wagoner, the Columbia Missourian reported.

Terms of the settlement, which still must be approved by a court, were not released.

Santulli was found in cardiac arrest inside a car at University Hospital in Columbia on Oct. 20 after a pledge party at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, according to court records.

The lawsuit alleges Santulli and his pledge class at Phi Gamma Delta were each forced to drink a bottle of hard liquor. Santulli’s blood alcohol content was 0.486%, more than six times the legal limit for driving.

Clark was a secretary on the student executive board of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity chapter. Palermo and Wagoner were part on the board of chapter advisers.

The national fraternity and university both suspended the Missouri chapter following Santulli’s hospitalization.