In 2016, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate student was killed after being struck by a sleep-deprived pledge in a truck, and this fall a lawsuit against Kappa Sigma Fraternity and former fraternity members over his death may go to trial.
The lawsuit is slated to go to a jury trial Sept. 12, after previously being scheduled for March. The case is being handled by 15th Judicial Court Judge Kristian Earles.
On Nov. 6, 2016, Rustam Nizamutdinov, a UL Lafayette graduate student from Uzbekistan, was walking home on the shoulder of Johnston Street after leaving a friend’s house when he was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Michael Gallagher Jr., a Kappa Sigma pledge, the lawsuit says.
Gallagher had fallen asleep at the wheel and veered off the road after being subjected to multiple days of forced sleep deprivation and other fraternity hazing activities.
Nizamutdinov was an only child, obtaining his master’s degree in engineering at the university. He is survived by his mother, Farida Shavkatova Nizamutdinova, who lives in Uzbekistan, the lawsuit says.
A University of Louisiana at Lafayette fraternity has been suspended from campus for three years after an investigation into hazing.
Nizamutdinova filed the lawsuit in September 2017, seeking damages from Kappa Sigma Fraternity, the fraternity’s UL Lafayette chapter, the chapter’s associated housing corporation and individual fraternity members, including chapter officers Camp Sledge, Alex Frederick, Manny Duhon and Imaan Ouedraogo, as well as 10 John Doe members.
The case against Ouedraogo was dismissed in June 2021, per court records.
In her lawsuit, Nizamutdinova claims the named defendants, all members of the Epsilon-Chi chapter’s executive board, are personally liable because they agreed in writing on multiple occasions to refrain from, prevent and report any hazing activities, as required by the fraternity’s bylaws and code of conduct. Failure to uphold that duty created a dangerous environment that resulted in the death of her son.
She similarly argues the fraternity at large is liable because the named defendants were acting as official Kappa Sigma members at fraternity-related gatherings and because the fraternity failed to appropriately intervene after reports of potential hazing at the chapter were made ahead of Nizamutdinov’s death, the lawsuit says.
An email filed in the case, which highlighted findings from the university’s investigation into the chapter, noted that the hazing activities were broad and varied, including forced boxing and wrestling, prolonged sleep deprivation, required labor and services, and required or pressured drinking.
Nizamutdinova’s claims against the individual fraternity members were originally dismissed by Earles, but an appellate decision overturned that ruling and allowed her to proceed with her suits against the members.
Kappa Sigma’s chapter at UL Lafayette was given a cease and desist order from the university in the fall of 2016 as an investigation into the chapter was conducted in the wake of Nizamutdinov’s death. In July 2017, Kappa Sigma’s national organization revoked the UL Lafayette chapter’s charter and they ceased to be recognized as a student organization.
This week, UL announced the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity was suspended from campus until May 2025 because of a 2021 hazing incident involving sleep deprivation and the performance of calisthenics was reported in March, a university statement said.
The university’s page for Greek organizations shows the fraternity chapter was issued a cease and desist order by the university’s Office of Student Engagement and Leadership in March 2022 following the allegation.
The hazing report was jointly investigated by the university’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Police Department, the university statement said.
In addition to the chapter’s suspension, eight men have been issued misdemeanor summonses by ULPD for . Seven of the men were current students and fraternity members in spring 2022, while one was no longer at the university.
In an email ahead of the 2017 Kappa Sigma revocation decision, Chris Cooley, a Kappa Sigma official who came from out of state to investigate the UL Lafayette chapter, confirmed there was evidence of hazing at the chapter. Nizamutdinova’s attorneys included a copy of the email as part of a court filing.
“[Dean of Students Margarita Perez and Associate Dean of Students Heidie Lindsey] do not feel the group as a whole can be trusted to give up on hazing. They said that in their interviews of the membership, none of the members expressed agreement with the idea that the hazing was wrong and should not occur. Even the new members talked about the ‘benefits’ of hazing, ‘unity’ et cetera,” Cooley’s email filed in the case said.
“Margarita and Heidie are adamant that the motor vehicle accident only occurred due to sleep deprivation imposed by the chapter. The evidence seems to support their position on this,” the email said.
UL Lafayette’s hazing policy, effective Aug. 1, 2019, says acts of hazing are considered irresponsible, intolerable and inconsistent with the University’s mission.” UL has a “zero tolerance policy” for hazing that’s applicable to students, current and potential student organizations, university alumni and student organization advisers.
