Orzech v. Fairleigh Dickinson University

Twenty-one-year-old college student Keith Orzech was living in a Fairleigh Dickinson University (defendant) resident hall over the summer between semesters. He threw a party with grain alcohol, drinking games, and students under 21, which violated three of the school’s alcohol rules. As resident assistants (RAs), he and his roommate were tasked with reporting alcohol violations to the school’s public safety department, but neither did. Orzech was extremely intoxicated by 2:00 a.m., when two students helped him to bed. Sometime later, he fell from his fourth-floor bedroom window and died. His family (plaintiffs) sued the university for negligence, citing an inadequate alcohol policy and lack of enforcement. The university argued that charitable immunity precluded liability for simple negligence claims brought on behalf of its students, and that Orzech was a student receiving educational benefits from the university by living in its residence halls. A provost testified that the university provided residence halls to help students develop interpersonal skills, relationships, and responsibilities that furthered their overall education. The judge rejected a per se rule qualifying all students as educational beneficiaries, reasoning that Orzech’s violating alcohol policy meant he was not a beneficiary at the time of the accident. The jury found each side 50-percent negligent, awarding Orzech’s family $260,000. The university appealed, arguing that charitable immunity barred any liability.