WSU owed ‘duty of care’ to late student who died in fraternity hazing incident

Washington State University owed a “duty of care” to Sam Martinez, a student who died in a 2019 fraternity hazing incident, a state appeals court ruled this week.

A 19-year-old freshman from Bellevue and a Newport High graduate, Martinez died of alcohol poisoning while pledging a WSU-recognized fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega.

In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Martinez’s parents argued that WSU, the fraternity and others bore responsibility for the death. In 2022, a King County Superior Court judge dismissed the case against the university, writing that WSU did not owe a duty of care to Martinez.

The appeals court decision Tuesday overturns that ruling. The case is now sent back to the superior court for further proceedings. The appeals court did not rule specifically on whether WSU is liable for Martinez’s death.

“Because WSU has a special relationship with its recognized fraternal organizations, we conclude that it owed a duty to use reasonable care to control the fraternity and protect Sam from the foreseeable harms of fraternal hazing and alcohol misuse,” the Washington Court of Appeals, Division 1, wrote in its decision.

Since Martinez’s death, his parents Jolayne Houtz, a former Seattle Times reporter, and Hector Martinez have successfully lobbied for the passage of state and federal antihazing laws.

In 2022, then-Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that updated the state’s definition of hazing and required schools to publicly report all hazing investigations, now known as “Sam’s Law.”

In December, then-President Joe Biden signed into law a bill championed by Houtz and Hector Martinez that makes it mandatory for schools to disclose hazing incidents and develop programs educating students on the activity’s dangers.

Reached by phone Friday, Houtz said she felt “vindicated” by the ruling.

“It strains the imagination to think that WSU wouldn’t be culpable,” Houtz said.

WSU spokesperson Phil Weiler said the university has not decided if or how it would challenge the ruling.

The Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office in 2021 charged 15 former members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity in connection with Sam Martinez’s death. Some were sentenced to probation, while others served anywhere from a single day to 19 days in jail, according to The Spokesman-Review.

WSU stripped its recognition of the fraternity until 2026, effectively suspending the chapter from operating at the school. Houtz said she opposes its reinstatement.