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The Daily Athenaeum
WVU’s Independent Student Newspaper
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THURSDAY JANUARY 10, 2019
Fraternity-related wrongful death case settled for $3 million BY JOE SEVERINO NEWS EDITOR Administrators of the estate of Nolan Burch, the WVU student who died during a fraternity-related pledge event in 2014, agreed to settle its wrongful death case for $3 million, according to court documents. The 10-page document containing the terms of the settlement was apparently under court-approved seal in Monongalia County Circuit Court, but was obtained by the Daily Athenaeum. The parties agreeing to pay portions of the settlement were identified as Kappa Sigma Fraternity, West Virginia University, former WVU students Richard Schwartz and Jordon Hankins, and landlords Thomas and Linda Richey. Theron J. Burch and Kimberly Burch, Nolan Burch’s parents, received just under $2 million in the settlement, according to the documents. The estate’s counsel, Brewer & Giggenbach, PLLC, and Connors, LLP, received legal fees and costs of a combined $1,036,778, which includes $55,162.52 in reimbursed legal expenses. Schwartz, Nolan Burch’s “brother” in the Kappa Sigma fraternity, agreed to pay $2 million in settlement of claims against him, according to the documents.
PHOTO VIA NBC NEWS
Nolan Burch
What led to the death of WVU student Nolan Burch STAFF REPORT
PHOTO BY KYLE MONROE
In November 2014, the house at 200 Belmar Ave. was the site of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Schwartz supplied the bottle of liquor Burch drank on the night of his death, according to court records. Hankins, who orchestrated the pledge event on the night of Burch’s death, agreed to pay $450,000 to settle claims made by the Burch estate. Kappa Sigma Fraternity agreed to pay $300,000, while Thomas and
Linda Richey, who at the time of Nolan Burch’s death were renting the property where he died, agreed to pay $25,000, according to the documents. West Virginia University’s Board of Governors agreed to pay $250,000, an amount first reported by the Charleston Gazette-Mail in November 2018. The WVU Board of Governors directed an addi-
tional $25,000 to WVU Children’s Hospital Critical Care Services and to the Center for Organ Recovery & Education at the request of Burch’s family. According to the documents, Alexandra Burch, Nolan Burch’s sister, waived any claim to the wrongful death proceeds.
Justice talks higher education at State of the State address BY ALAYNA FULLER ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice addressed state absenteeism rates, low math scores, pay raises and ways to fix the state’s education system in his State of the State address on Wednesday night. Delivering his second State of the State address as Governor, Justice covered a variety of issues, but focused mainly around education issues, including teacher’s pay and insurance for public
employees. “Education is the hot spot that really can change our image,” Justice said. “Let’s make education our centerpiece.” He discussed the disposal of certain faulty testing methods throughout the state and how control was placed back into local educators’ hands. He also mentioned the 5 percent teachers pay raise and claims that it did positively change West Virginia’s image.
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PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA
Justice at his inauguration.
On Nov. 12, 2014, the Kappa Sigma Gamma Phi chapter celebrated a “Big/ Little” night at 305 Glendon St., one street over from the fraternity’s house at 200 Belmar Ave. Nolan Burch, a first-semester freshman at WVU, and 19 other pledges were rushing Kappa Sigma at the time. The students participated in a pledge event where they were blindfolded, taken to the Glendon Street house from the fraternity and assigned a “big.” Burch’s “big”, former WVU student Richard Schwartz, supplied Burch a bottle of liquor that night. Burch consumed a large quantity of alcohol and later had to be taken back to the Kappa Sigma house by members of the fraternity. At approximately 11:50 p.m., a member of the fraternity noticed Burch’s face had turned blue and tried to wake him, but Burch was unresponsive with no pulse. Burch was then transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital and put on life support. Two days later, Burch died in the hospital. His BAC on the night of the incident was .493, more than six times the legal limit to drive. In the months following, the Morgantown Police Department charged Schwartz and former WVU student Jordon Hankins, who prosecutors alleged was the “grand master” of the pledge event, with hazing. Hankins and Schwartz were able to get the hazing charges dropped if they completed a diversion program, according to The Buffalo News.