Attorneys David W. Bianchi and Michael Levine’s recent hazing case was featured today on both Law.com and the Daily Business Review. The article focuses on the lawsuit filed this week on behalf of the parents of Andrew Coffey, a 20-year-old fraternity pledge at Florida State University whose untimely death has been linked to acts of extreme hazing. In it, Bianchi’s history with hazing is detailed—especially his personal involvement in the drafting of Florida’s laws to criminalize the behavior. He plans to leverage that experience in the case of Coffey, pushing forward to protect the rights, safety, and well-being of students nationwide.
“I want to save the victims who will quietly go along because they want to belong,” reads a plaque in Bianchi’s office (a quote from Leon Circuit Judge Kathleen Dekker)—and it is something that fuels Bianchi in his quest to put an end to acts of fraternity hazing. “I want schools to be furious and mad and upset that they can lose talent to this, and come down hard on hazing,” said the Judge.
That desire helped drive him to draft and push along the 41-page civil lawsuit he filed this week alongside Michael Levine. The suit named 15 different defendants, including the national offices of Pi Kappa Phi (the fraternity to which Coffey was pledged), as well as fraternity members, the Pi Kappa Phi adviser, and individuals who rented the house to the fraternity.
To learn more about this case, read yesterday’s blog on it or check out the Law.com article today.