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A University of Maine student conduct officer kept Sigma Alpha Epsilon on the radar by suing the fraternity on Sept. 16.
David Fiacco has filed a lawsuit against the national SAE fraternity for emotional distress allegedly inflicted on him by SAE members.
Fiacco was involved with investigations of SAE in 2002 after a fire at the fraternity’s house. Numerous safety violations and the recovery of stolen property led to a subsequent one-year suspension of the fraternity. Fiacco claims that SAE hired a private investigator and obtained information from his past, including records of a DUI conviction and a petition filed against Fiacco for protection from abuse. That information was then purportedly sent to UMaine officials anonymously in an attempt to embarrass and discredit Fiacco and perhaps influence the penalties yet to be imposed on SAE.
According to Fiacco’s lawyer, Bernard Kubetz, Fiacco waited until recently to file the lawsuit because he had given the situation a lot of thought, and after meeting with Kubetz several times, decided that it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it.
Brandon Weghorst, director of communications for SAE, is confused by the lawsuit and allegations made.
“We don’t understand why he would target the national organization,” Weghorst said. “SAE’s national organization never hired a private investigator, and they never sent anything in documentation from a private investigator.”
Weghorst said that unlike some past lawsuits SAE has been named in and settled out of court, this case does not have merit.
Kubetz said the evidence will find SAE at fault.
“That is why the defendant is suing the national organization, but it is possible the evidence will show that the local was also directly involved,” Kubetz.
Fiacco also filed a lawsuit against the private investigator who SAE allegedly consulted, but the case was dismissed without prejudice. Fiacco chose not to pursue the lawsuit any further.
In regards to whether SAE was the informer or not, Kubetz said the circumstances, timing and context in which it all occurred are too specific to be accidental, and they have information that clearly identifies the fraternity. Kubetz remains vague on the evidence that he and his client have, saying he does not want to state the facts of the case and try this lawsuit through the media.
“It will be difficult for him to prove his case,” Weghorst said.
Kubetz thinks otherwise.
“We believe the evidence will establish that SAE was responsible for the hiring of the private investigator and the dissemination of the information,” he said.
Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, Weghorst maintains that it will not affect the operations of the fraternity on a national level. Because the national fraternity of SAE has not yet received a copy of the lawsuit, Weghorst was unable to comment on anything else of the allegations.
“We look forward to having our day in court and the opportunity to present facts to a main jury and have them decided what really happened and what consequences should be paid,” Kubetz said. “I think that the facts will speak for themselves.”
The lawsuit comes at a time when SAE is already at a standstill with UMaine as a result of a spring incident, but Weghorst doesn’t see this as something that will strain relations between the university and SAE.
Bangor Daily News