Dead student's family files lawsuit

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The family of a New York college student found dead of alcohol poisoning has filed a lawsuit against eight people connected to the case, officials said.

Arman Partamian, 19, a student at State University College at Geneseo, died March 1 at an outlawed off-campus fraternity known as the Pigs.

Partamian was forced to drink excessive amounts of alcohol as part of a pledging ritual, said the $2.5 million suit, filed by his father, Hagop Partamian, in state Supreme Court in Queens.

Arman Partamian, who lived in a campus dorm, was found dead in a bed at the fraternity after the night-long fraternity ritual, the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle reported Tuesday.

Defendants in the civil suit include Alex Stucki, 20, of Geneseo, and Devin McClain, 21, of Mount Morris. Stucki and McClain, who were students and Pigs' members, were charged with criminally negligent homicide for allegedly encouraging Partamian to drink to excess, authorities said.

The remaining defendants include four students who were Pigs' members and two landlords who owned the fraternity's building.