The Complete Guide to Hazing, Liability, and Legal Options for Grapevine, Texas Families

For parents in Grapevine, the college experience you envisioned for your child can turn into a living nightmare with a single phone call or text. Your student, who you sent to a Texas university with pride and excitement, is now in the hospital, or has become secretive, withdrawn, and physically injured. The familiar landscapes of Tarrant County and the Dallas-Fort Worth metro feel distant from the closed-door rituals happening on campuses across Texas. Hazing is not a relic of the past or something that happens “elsewhere.” It is a present and dangerous reality within Greek life, athletic programs, Corps units, and spirit groups at universities throughout our state. This guide is written specifically for Grapevine families to cut through the confusion, explain the legal landscape in Texas, and provide a clear path forward when hazing shatters the college dream.

IMMEDIATE HELP FOR HAZING EMERGENCIES:

• If your child is in danger RIGHT NOW:
  • Call 911 for medical emergencies.
  • Then call Attorney911: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). We provide immediate help—that’s why we’re the Legal Emergency Lawyers™.
• In the first 48 hours:
  • Get medical attention immediately, even if the student insists they are “fine.”
  • Preserve evidence BEFORE it’s deleted:
    • Screenshot group chats, texts, DMs immediately.
    • Photograph injuries from multiple angles.
    • Save physical items (clothing, receipts, objects).
  • Write down everything while memory is fresh (who, what, when, where).
  • Do NOT:
    • Confront the fraternity, sorority, or team.
    • Sign anything from the university or insurance company.
    • Post details on public social media.
    • Let your child delete messages or “clean up” evidence.
• Contact an experienced hazing attorney within 24–48 hours:
  • Evidence disappears fast (deleted group chats, destroyed paddles, coached witnesses).
  • Universities move quickly to control the narrative.
  • We can help preserve evidence and protect your child’s rights.
  • Call 1-888-ATTY-911 for immediate consultation.

Hazing in 2025: What It Really Looks Like for Texas Students

Hazing has evolved far beyond the stereotypical “prank.” For Grapevine families with students at UT Austin, Texas A&M, SMU, or any Texas campus, understanding these modern tactics is critical to recognizing danger. Hazing is any coerced activity—physical, mental, or digital—required for joining or maintaining status in a group, that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers.

Modern Hazing Categories

• Alcohol & Substance Hazing: Forced consumption during “family trees,” “big/little” reveals, or drinking games like “Bible study.” This remains the leading cause of hazing deaths nationally.
• Physical Hazing: “Smokings” with extreme calisthenics (hundreds of push-ups, wall-sits until collapse), paddling, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme elements, and forced consumption of unpalatable food (excessive milk, raw eggs, hot sauce).
• Psychological & Sexualized Hazing: Verbal abuse, public humiliation, forced nudity, simulated sexual acts, and acts involving racial or homophobic degradation. This causes deep, lasting trauma.
• Digital Hazing: 24/7 control via GroupMe or WhatsApp, forced participation in humiliating TikTok/Instagram challenges, location-sharing demands, and cyberstalking for non-compliance.

This abuse occurs in fraternities and sororities (IFC, Panhellenic, NPHC, multicultural), Corps of Cadets and ROTC units, athletic teams, spirit groups like cheer and dance, marching bands, and some academic or service clubs. The common threads are secrecy, power imbalance, and the warped justification of “tradition.”

The Texas Legal Framework: Hazing Laws, Liability, and Your Rights

Texas has robust laws designed to protect students and hold perpetrators accountable. For Grapevine families navigating a crisis, understanding this framework is the first step toward justice.

Texas Education Code Chapter 37: The Anti-Hazing Statute

Texas law defines hazing broadly as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act, on or off campus, directed at a student for the purpose of joining or maintaining membership in a group, that:

• Endangers the mental or physical health or safety of the student.

Key Provisions for Grapevine Families:

• Criminal Penalties: Hazing is a Class B misdemeanor. It becomes a Class A misdemeanor if it causes bodily injury and a State Jail Felony if it causes serious bodily injury or death.
• Consent is NOT a Defense (Sec. 37.155): Even if your child “agreed,” it is not a legal defense. The law recognizes the coercive power of peer pressure.
• Organizational Liability (Sec. 37.153): The fraternity, sorority, or team itself can be prosecuted and fined up to $10,000 if it authorized the hazing or if an officer with knowledge failed to report it.
• Immunity for Good-Faith Reporting (Sec. 37.154): Individuals who report hazing in good faith are protected from civil or criminal liability. Many universities extend amnesty for underage drinking when seeking medical help.

Criminal vs. Civil Cases: Two Paths to Accountability

• Criminal Cases: Brought by the state (DA). Aim to punish (jail, fines, probation). Charges can include hazing, furnishing alcohol to a minor, assault, and in fatalities, manslaughter.
• Civil Cases: Brought by victims and families. Aim to secure compensation for damages (medical bills, pain and suffering, wrongful death) and force institutional change. These cases target all responsible parties: individual perpetrators, the local chapter, the national headquarters, the university, and housing corporations.

A criminal conviction is not required to pursue a civil case. The burden of proof is lower in civil court (“preponderance of the evidence” vs. “beyond a reasonable doubt”).

Federal Overlays: Title IX, Clery, and the Stop Hazing Act

• Title IX: If hazing involves sexual harassment or assault, federally-funded schools must investigate and address it as a form of sex discrimination.
• Clery Act: Requires colleges to report certain campus crimes, which can include hazing-related assaults.
• Stop Campus Hazing Act (2024): Requires increased transparency in hazing reporting and public disclosure of violations, phasing in through 2026.

National Case Patterns: A Blueprint for What Texas Families Face

The tragedies that have made national headlines are not anomalies; they are the predictable results of known, repeated patterns. These cases provide the legal blueprint we use to hold Texas organizations accountable.

The Alcohol Poisoning Pattern

• Timothy Piazza (Penn State, Beta Theta Pi, 2017): A bid-acceptance night with forced drinking led to fatal falls. Brothers delayed calling 911 for hours. The case resulted in massive criminal charges and Pennsylvania’s “Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law.”
• Stone Foltz (Bowling Green, Pi Kappa Alpha, 2021): A pledge died after being forced to drink a bottle of liquor. The family secured a $10 million settlement ($7M from nationals, $3M from the university).
• Max Gruver (LSU, Phi Delta Theta, 2017): A “Bible study” drinking game led to a fatal BAC of 0.495%. The case spurred Louisiana’s felony “Max Gruver Act” and a $6.1 million verdict.

The Physical & Ritualized Hazing Pattern

• Chun “Michael” Deng (Baruch College, Pi Delta Psi, 2013): A blindfolded, violent “glass ceiling” ritual at a retreat caused fatal brain trauma. The national fraternity was criminally convicted and banned from Pennsylvania.

The Athletic Hazing Pattern

• Northwestern University Football (2023-25): Widespread sexualized and racist hazing allegations led to multiple lawsuits, the firing of the head coach, and a confidential settlement, proving hazing pervades major athletic programs.

These national precedents matter in Texas courtrooms. They establish foreseeability—proving that national organizations and universities were aware of the deadly risks yet failed to prevent them.

Texas University Focus: Where Grapevine Families Send Their Kids

Grapevine students attend universities across Texas. Understanding the specific landscape, policies, and histories of these schools is crucial.

The Local & Regional Campuses for Grapevine Students

Many Grapevine students choose excellent institutions close to home in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro and North Texas:

• University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, Tarrant County)
• Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Tarrant County)
• University of North Texas (Denton, Denton County)
• Texas Wesleyan University (Fort Worth, Tarrant County)

Major Statewide University Hubs

Grapevine families also send students to Texas’s flagship and major private universities, each with significant Greek life and hazing risks:

• University of Texas at Austin
• Texas A&M University (College Station)
• Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
• Baylor University (Waco)
• University of Houston

A Critical Texas Case Happening Now: Bermudez v. UH & Pi Kappa Phi

Right now, we are actively litigating one of the most severe hazing cases in the country, demonstrating our frontline commitment. In late 2025, we filed a $10 million lawsuit on behalf of Leonel Bermudez, a University of Houston student and Pi Kappa Phi (Beta Nu chapter) pledge.

The hazing included: a degrading “pledge fanny pack”; enforced dress codes and overnight driving duties; extreme physical abuse like bear crawls and being sprayed in the face with a hose “similar to waterboarding”; forced consumption of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until vomiting; and a November 3 workout of 100+ push-ups and 500 squats. This led Bermudez to develop life-threatening rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure, passing brown urine and requiring a four-day hospitalization. The Pi Kappa Phi chapter was suspended and then shut down. This case, covered by Click2Houston and ABC13, is a stark example of the brutality that persists and the multi-defendant litigation (UH, national fraternity, housing corp., 13 individuals) required to secure justice.

The Greek Ecosystem Surrounding Grapevine: A Data-Driven Perspective

When hazing occurs, liability often extends beyond the individuals in the room to the structured network of organizations behind them. We maintain the Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine—a proprietary database built from public records—to map this network for our clients. For Grapevine families, this means we start investigations with knowledge, not guesses.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metro Greek Landscape

Grapevine sits within the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro, which, according to our analysis of IRS and Cause IQ data, contains over 500 Greek-related organizations—the highest concentration in Texas. These are not just social clubs; they are legal entities with employer identification numbers (EINs), mailing addresses, and often, insurance policies.

Public Records Snapshot: DFW Metro Greek Organizations
This is a small sample of the registered entities we track that operate in the metro area serving Grapevine families:

• Beta Upsilon Chi Fraternity, EIN 74-2911848, Fort Worth, TX 76244 (IRS B83 Filing)
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc, EIN 74-1380362, Fort Worth, TX 76147 (IRS B83 Filing)
• Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity – Gamma Psi Chapter, Fort Worth, TX (Cause IQ Metro Listing)
• Sigma Nu Fraternity – Lambda Epsilon Chapter, Fort Worth, TX (Cause IQ Metro Listing)
• Kappa Delta Sorority – Gamma Beta Chapter, Denton, TX (Cause IQ Metro Listing)

Connecting National Brands to Texas Ground

We cross-reference data to trace national fraternities through their Texas entities. For example, the Pi Kappa Alpha brand appears in IRS filings in Nederland, Texas, and in Cause IQ data as the “Texas District of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity” in Houston. This tracking is vital for identifying all potentially liable parties and their insurance coverage in a hazing lawsuit.

Building a Hazing Case: Evidence, Strategy, and Damages

Winning a hazing case requires a swift, meticulous, and strategic investigation. Our approach, honed over decades of complex litigation, treats every case with the urgency it deserves.

Critical Evidence Collection

Digital evidence is paramount. We move immediately to preserve:

• Group Chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp, iMessage): These often contain the planning, execution, and cover-up of hazing.
• Social Media (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok): Photos, videos, and stories documenting acts and injuries.
• Internal Chapter Records: Pledge manuals, meeting notes, and communications with national headquarters.
• University Records: Prior disciplinary files on the organization, obtained through discovery or public records requests.
• Medical Records: Documenting the full extent of physical and psychological injuries, from ER reports to long-term therapy notes.

We have the resources and expertise to recover deleted messages and subpoena records that organizations try to hide. As we explain in our evidence preservation video, acting quickly is non-negotiable: Our video on using your phone to document evidence.

Overcoming Institutional Defense Tactics

National fraternities and universities have sophisticated defense playbooks. Our insider knowledge allows us to counter their common strategies:

• “Rogue Chapter” Defense: We use national incident databases to prove patterns of similar hazing across the country, establishing the national organization’s knowledge and failure to act.
• “Consent” Defense: We cite Texas Education Code § 37.155 and use psychological experts to explain the coercive environment that voids true consent.
• Insurance Coverage Fights: Mr. Lupe Peña’s background as an insurance defense attorney is invaluable here. He knows how insurers try to deny claims under “intentional act” exclusions, and we build cases to overcome those arguments.

Comprehensive Damages Recovery

Hazing causes profound harm. We work with life-care planners, economists, and medical experts to quantify the full scope of damages:

• Economic Damages: All medical bills (past and future), lost wages, diminished earning capacity, and educational costs.
• Non-Economic Damages: Compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, PTSD, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life.
• Wrongful Death Damages: In tragic cases, we seek compensation for funeral costs, loss of companionship, and the family’s emotional trauma.
• Punitive Damages: In cases of egregious misconduct, we pursue punitive damages to punish the defendants and deter future behavior.

Practical Guides for Grapevine Parents and Students

For Parents: Recognizing and Responding to Hazing

Warning Signs:

• Unexplained injuries, bruises, or burns.
• Extreme fatigue, sleep deprivation, or drastic weight changes.
• Secretive behavior, withdrawal from family and old friends.
• Constant, anxious phone use related to group chats.
• Personality changes: new anxiety, depression, or irritability.
• Sudden academic or financial problems.

What to Do If You Suspect Hazing:

1. Prioritize Safety & Health: If injured, get medical care immediately.
2. Document Everything: Write down what your child tells you. Screenshot messages. Photograph injuries.
3. Preserve Evidence: Do not let your child delete anything from their phone.
4. Seek Legal Counsel Before Reporting: Contact us at 1-888-ATTY-911. We can guide you on how to report to the university or police in a way that protects your child’s rights and preserves the evidence trail.
5. Avoid Common Mistakes: Do not confront the organization directly. Do not sign anything from the university. Do not post on social media. Watch our guide on client mistakes that can ruin your injury case.

For Students: Your Rights and Safety

• You Have the Right to Be Safe: No tradition is worth your life or health.
• “Consent” is Not a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card: Under Texas law, your agreement under pressure is not a defense for your hazer.
• You Can Report Anonymously: Use campus hotlines or the National Anti-Hazing Hotline (1-888-NOT-HAZE).
• Good Faith Reporter Protections Exist: Texas law and most school policies protect those who call for help in an emergency, even if underage drinking was involved.

Critical Mistakes That Can Destroy a Case

We cannot overstate the importance of avoiding these errors:

1. Deleting Digital Evidence: This looks like a cover-up and destroys your leverage.
2. Confronting the Organization: This triggers their defense strategy and evidence destruction.
3. Signing University “Resolution” Forms: These often waive your right to sue for fair compensation.
4. Waiting Too Long: Evidence vanishes, witnesses become hostile, and the statute of limitations runs. In Texas, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file suit. Learn more in our video: Is There a Statute of Limitations on My Case?

Why Grapevine Families Choose Attorney911 for Hazing Litigation

When your family is in crisis, you need more than a lawyer; you need a dedicated team with proven experience taking on the powerful institutions that enable hazing. The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC (Attorney911) is that team.

Our Unmatched Texas Hazing Litigation Advantage

• Frontline Case Experience: We are actively litigating the Leonel Bermudez v. UH & Pi Kappa Phi case, a multi-million-dollar, multi-defendant hazing lawsuit. We are in the fight right now.
• The Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine: We don’t start from scratch. Our proprietary database of over 1,400 Texas Greek organizations gives us an immediate investigative edge to identify all liable parties.
• Insurance Insider Knowledge: Mr. Lupe Peña (he/him) spent years as an insurance defense attorney for a national firm. He knows exactly how fraternity and university insurers evaluate claims, fight coverage, and deploy delay tactics. We know their playbook because we used to run it.
• Complex Institutional Litigation Mastery: Managing Partner Ralph Manginello was one of the few plaintiff attorneys involved in the BP Texas City explosion litigation. We have faced billion-dollar defendants with limitless legal budgets and won. Universities and national fraternities do not intimidate us.
• Dual Civil & Criminal Expertise: Ralph’s membership in the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association (HCCLA) means we understand the interplay between criminal hazing charges and civil lawsuits. We can effectively advise clients navigating both systems.
• Full-Service Investigative Resources: We have a network of experts—digital forensics specialists, medical professionals, life-care planners, and economists—to build an unassailable case.
• Spanish-Language Services: Se habla Español. Mr. Peña is fluent and can serve Spanish-speaking families with compassion and understanding.

We operate on a contingency fee basis for personal injury cases. This means you pay no upfront fees; we only get paid if we recover money for you. Learn how this works: How Do Contingency Fees Work?.

Your Next Step: A Free, Confidential Consultation

If hazing has impacted your Grapevine family, you do not have to navigate this alone. The university’s priority is limiting liability. The fraternity’s priority is survival. Your priority is your child’s wellbeing, healing, and justice.

We offer a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation to every family. We will listen to your story, review any evidence you have, explain your legal options in clear terms, and outline the potential path forward. There is no pressure. We are here to provide the clarity and support you need during this incredibly difficult time.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC / Attorney911 Today:

• Call: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
• Direct Line: (713) 528-9070
• Website: https://attorney911.com
• Email Ralph Manginello: ralph@atty911.com
• Email Lupe Peña (Se habla Español): lupe@atty911.com

We serve families across Texas from our offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont. For Grapevine families in Tarrant County and the greater DFW area, we are your dedicated Texas hazing litigation specialists. Let us help you secure accountability and prevent this from happening to another family.

Legal Disclaimer

This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC.

Hazing laws, university policies, and legal precedents can change. The information in this guide is current as of late 2025 but may not reflect the most recent developments. Every hazing case is unique, and outcomes depend on the specific facts, evidence, applicable law, and many other factors.

If you or your child has been affected by hazing, we strongly encourage you to consult with a qualified Texas attorney who can review your specific situation, explain your legal rights, and advise you on the best course of action for your family.

The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC / Attorney911
Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, Texas
Call: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
Direct: (713) 528-9070 | Cell: (713) 443-4781
Website: https://attorney911.com
Email: ralph@atty911.com