A Guide for Moore Station Families: Understanding Hazing, Fraternity Lawsuits, and Your Rights in Texas

If you are a parent in Moore Station, Texas, your worst nightmare may involve a phone call from your child’s university. The voice on the other end is hesitant, the details are vague, but the message is clear: something has gone terribly wrong during a fraternity, sorority, or campus organization event. Your child is hurt, scared, or, in the most devastating cases, will not be coming home. The institution’s language is filled with promises of “internal review” and “cooperation,” but you are left with more questions than answers. Who is truly responsible? What really happened? And how can you protect your child and hold those accountable when powerful universities and national organizations seem to close ranks?

Right now, in our own state, a case unfolding at the University of Houston shows exactly how serious—and how legally complex—modern hazing can be. We represent Leonel Bermudez, a student who suffered catastrophic injuries during his fall 2025 pledge period with the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity’s Beta Nu chapter at UH. The allegations are severe and specific: forced, humiliating “pledge fanny pack” rules; extreme physical hazing including sprints, bear crawls, and being sprayed with a hose “similar to waterboarding”; and a brutal November 3 workout that led to rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle breakdown) and acute kidney failure. His urine turned brown, he was hospitalized for four days, and he faces a lifelong risk of permanent kidney damage. This is not a story from a distant state; this is a $10 million hazing and abuse lawsuit active in Harris County, Texas, with our firm, Attorney911, leading the fight for accountability against the University of Houston, Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters, and 13 individual fraternity leaders.

For families in Moore Station and across Henderson County, this case is a critical reference point. It proves that the most serious forms of hazing are happening at Texas universities where your children may be studying. It demonstrates the deep investigative work required to uncover the full network of liability—from the individual members to the national organizations that often try to distance themselves. And it shows why choosing legal counsel with specific experience in Texas hazing law, institutional litigation, and insurance defense tactics is not just an option, but a necessity.

This guide is written specifically for you—parents, grandparents, and families in Moore Station. We will walk you through what hazing really looks like today, the Texas laws that govern it, the real-world data on Greek organizations operating near you, and the practical, immediate steps to take if your family faces this crisis. Our goal is to provide clarity, empower you with knowledge, and show you how a dedicated, data-driven legal team can help you seek justice and prevent this from happening to another family in our community.

The Hazing Reality for Moore Station College Students

Hazing is often minimized as “tradition” or “team bonding,” but Texas law defines it clearly: any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers a student’s mental or physical health for the purpose of initiation or affiliation with a group. For students from Moore Station attending colleges across Texas, this danger can take many forms, often evolving to avoid detection.

Subtle but harmful hazing might include forced servitude like being on-call 24/7 for errands, mandatory “study hours” that are actually isolation sessions, or being required to carry degrading items (as in the UH Pi Kappa Phi “pledge fanny pack” case). Harassment hazing escalates to sleep deprivation, verbal abuse, forced consumption of unpalatable foods, or calisthenics used as punishment. The most dangerous tier, violent hazing, includes what happened to Leonel Bermudez: forced alcohol consumption to the point of alcohol poisoning, physical beatings or paddling, dangerous “retreats” at off-campus houses, and psychological torture.

The locations have also shifted. While hazing can still occur in official chapter houses, groups now frequently use off-campus apartments (like the Culmore Drive residence in the UH case), remote parks (like Yellowstone Boulevard Park in Houston), or rented Airbnb properties to avoid university oversight and security cameras. The evidence, however, is often digital and pervasive: organized in GroupMe chats, documented in Snapchat stories, and discussed in Instagram DMs. This digital footprint is now the cornerstone of building a strong legal case.

The Texas Greek Ecosystem: What Moore Station Parents Need to Know

When your child joins a fraternity or sorority, they are not just joining a local club. They are entering a complex network of legally recognized entities that span from the local chapter to alumni corporations to national headquarters, many of which are registered right here in Texas. Our firm maintains the Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, a proprietary database built from public records that tracks over 1,400 Greek-related organizations across 25 Texas metros. This data is not abstract—it directly informs our legal strategy and helps us identify every potentially liable party behind the letters.

For Moore Station families, this ecosystem is both local and statewide. Henderson County students often attend universities across Texas. Understanding the organizations at these schools is crucial. For example, Pi Kappa Phi—the national fraternity involved in the UH lawsuit—has a registered housing corporation in Frisco, Texas (EIN 46-2267515, Beta Nu Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation Inc.). This is a separate legal entity that can hold insurance and assets. This pattern repeats across the state.

A Snapshot of Texas Greek Organizations from Public Records

To illustrate the scale and structure, here are examples of Texas-registered Greek entities drawn from IRS and state filings. These are not accusations, but public records that form the backbone of our investigative work when we take on a hazing case. This is the kind of data we analyze to build a comprehensive claim.

Organizations with Texas Mailing Addresses (IRS B83 Filings):

• Kappa Sigma – Mu Camma Chapter Inc. (EIN 13-3048786), 3007 Earl Rudder Fwy S, College Station, TX 77845
• Gamma Phi Beta Sorority Inc. (EIN 16-1675890), 115 Wild Wick Way, The Woodlands, TX 77382
• Sigma Phi Lambda Inc. (EIN 20-1237505), 4251 FM 2181 Ste 230 PMB 480, Corinth, TX 76210
• Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity (EIN 74-6064445), 1855 Highway 69 N, Nederland, TX 77627
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc. (EIN 74-1380362), PO Box 470061, Fort Worth, TX 76147

Metro-Level Greek Presence (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Area Examples):
The DFW metro, which many East Texas families are connected to, hosts hundreds of Greek organizations according to Cause IQ data, including:

• Beta Upsilon Chi Fraternity, Fort Worth, TX
• Delta Tau Delta Fraternity – Gamma Iota Chapter, Austin, TX
• Chi Omega Educational Corporation, Fort Worth, TX

Cross-Validated National Brands Operating in Texas:
Organizations like Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi appear in both IRS records and metro databases, showing how national brands establish multiple entity types (undergrad chapters, alumni groups, honor societies) across the state.

This interconnected system means that when hazing occurs at a chapter in College Station or Austin, there may be a Texas-based housing corporation, an alumni chapter fund, and a national headquarters, each with its own insurance policies and legal responsibilities. An experienced hazing law firm knows how to identify and pursue all of them.

Where Moore Station and Henderson County Families Send Their Kids to College

Students from our community attend a wide range of Texas universities, from large state flagships to regional campuses. Each has its own Greek life landscape and history of hazing incidents. Based on geographic proximity and common enrollment patterns, Moore Station families often have students at:

Regional and Nearby Campuses:

• University of Texas at Tyler (Smith County)
• Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches County)
• Texas A&M University-Commerce (Hunt County)
• Tyler Junior College (Smith County)
• Kilgore College (Gregg County)

Major State University Hubs (Common Destinations for Texas Students):

• University of Houston (UH): The site of the active Leonel Bermudez/Pi Kappa Phi litigation. UH has multiple Greek councils and a history of chapter sanctions.
• Texas A&M University: Home to a large Greek system and the Corps of Cadets, both of which have faced serious hazing allegations and lawsuits in recent years.
• University of Texas at Austin: Maintains a public hazing violations log, showing repeated sanctions for organizations like Pi Kappa Alpha for forced consumption and strenuous calisthenics.
• Baylor University: Has faced hazing controversies within its athletic programs and Greek life.
• Texas State University, Texas Tech University, University of North Texas: All have significant Greek life presences with documented hazing incidents.

The legal implications for your family can depend on whether the school is public (like UH or Texas A&M) or private (like Baylor or SMU), as different rules of sovereign immunity may apply. However, in both cases, the fraternity or sorority itself—and its national organization—can be held accountable under Texas law.

Texas Hazing Law Explained for Moore Station Families

Texas takes hazing seriously under Chapter 37 of the Education Code. Key provisions every parent should know include:

• It’s a Crime: Hazing is a criminal offense. It can be a Class B misdemeanor, but rises to a State Jail Felony if it causes serious bodily injury or death—exactly the charge that could apply in a case like the UH Pi Kappa Phi incident that caused rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure.
• Consent is NOT a Defense (Sec. 37.155): It does not matter if your child “agreed” to participate. The law recognizes the intense peer pressure and power imbalance in these situations.
• Organizations Can Be Liable (Sec. 37.153): The fraternity, sorority, or club itself can be prosecuted and fined up to $10,000 per violation if it authorized or knowingly allowed the hazing.
• Immunity for Good Faith Reporters (Sec. 37.154): Students who report hazing or call for medical help in an emergency are protected from civil and criminal liability for their own minor involvement (like underage drinking). This is critical to encourage saving lives.

On the civil side—the lawsuit for damages that a family can file—Texas law allows claims against a broad range of defendants:

1. The Individuals who planned, carried out, or supervised the hazing.
2. The Local Chapter as an entity.
3. The National Fraternity/Sorority Headquarters. This is often where significant insurance coverage resides. We use our data engine to trace the connections from the local chapter to its national organization and related Texas entities.
4. The University. While public universities have some legal protections, they can be sued for negligence if they knew or should have known about a pattern of hazing and failed to take corrective action. The Bermudez lawsuit alleges UH failed in its duty to protect students despite signs of systemic issues.
5. Property Owners & Third Parties, like landlords of off-campus houses where hazing occurs.

Building a Powerful Case: The Attorney911 Approach

The Leonel Bermudez case against UH and Pi Kappa Phi is not just a headline; it is a blueprint for how we build complex hazing litigation. Our approach combines deep investigative resources with strategic legal expertise honed over decades.

1. Immediate Evidence Preservation: In the digital age, evidence vanishes quickly. We guide families to immediately screenshot group chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp, Instagram DMs), photograph injuries, and save any physical items. In the UH case, digital communications were vital in reconstructing the timeline of abuse. Our video on using your cellphone to document a legal case outlines these critical first steps.

2. Deploying the Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine: We don’t start from scratch. Our database of Texas Greek entities allows us to quickly identify all related organizations—the housing corporation, the alumni association, the educational foundation. This helps us ensure no liable party with insurance assets is overlooked.

3. Uncovering Pattern Evidence: We research the national history of the organization involved. For example, Pi Kappa Phi was previously involved in the 2017 death of Andrew Coffey at Florida State University. Demonstrating that a national organization was aware of the risks of its “traditions” is a powerful part of proving negligence and seeking punitive damages.

4. Navigating Insurance and Institutional Defense Tactics: This is where our unique background is indispensable. Our attorney, Mr. Lupe Peña (he/him), spent years as an insurance defense attorney at a national firm. He knows firsthand how insurance companies for fraternities and universities value claims, employ delay tactics, and fight coverage. We use this insider knowledge to anticipate and counter their strategies. Mr. Peña’s background is detailed on his profile at https://attorney911.com/attorneys/lupe-pena/.

5. Leveraging Catastrophic Injury and Wrongful Death Experience: Our managing partner, Ralph Manginello, has over 25 years of experience handling the most serious injury cases, including involvement in the BP Texas City explosion litigation. We understand how to work with medical experts, life care planners, and economists to fully account for the lifetime impact of injuries like traumatic brain damage or permanent organ injury. You can learn about Ralph’s background at https://attorney911.com/attorneys/ralph-manginello/.

Practical Steps for Moore Station Parents and Students

If you suspect or discover hazing, time is critical. Here is a clear action plan:

Within the First 24 Hours:

1. Prioritize Safety & Health: If there is any immediate danger or serious injury, call 911. Seek medical attention immediately and tell the doctors exactly what happened—”hazing” should be in the medical record.
2. Preserve All Evidence: Do not delete anything. Help your child screenshot entire message threads, take photos of injuries with a ruler for scale, and save any damaged clothing or objects.
3. Document Everything: Write down a timeline with names, dates, locations, and details while memories are fresh.
4. Contact an Attorney: Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free, confidential consultation. We can advise you on preserving evidence, navigating conversations with the university, and understanding your rights before you make any statements.

What NOT to Do:

• Do NOT contact the fraternity or sorority directly. This allows them to start destroying evidence and building a coordinated defense.
• Do NOT sign any documents from the university or an insurance company without legal counsel.
• Do NOT post details on social media. Let your legal team control the narrative.
• Do NOT assume the university’s internal process will deliver real accountability or fair compensation. Their interests are often in limiting liability and reputational damage.

Understanding the Timeline: In Texas, the statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death cases is generally two years. However, the clock starts ticking from the date of the incident or when the injury is discovered. Do not wait. Evidence degrades, witnesses scatter, and organizations solidify their stories. We explain this urgency in our video on Texas statutes of limitations.

Why Moore Station Families Choose Attorney911 for Hazing Cases

We are The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC, operating as Attorney911, the Legal Emergency Lawyers™. While our offices are in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, we serve hazing victims and their families across Texas, including those in Moore Station and Henderson County. We bring a combination of qualifications specifically suited to these complex cases:

• Active Texas Hazing Litigators: We are not theorists; we are in the courtroom right now fighting the Leonel Bermudez case against UH and Pi Kappa Phi. We understand the current tactics of Texas universities and national fraternities.
• Insider Insurance Knowledge: Mr. Peña’s defense background gives us an unmatched advantage in dealing with the insurance companies that ultimately pay settlements and judgments.
• Data-Driven Investigation: Our Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine means we begin every case with a map of the organizational landscape, saving crucial time.
• Spanish-Language Services: Mr. Peña speaks fluent Spanish, ensuring we can serve all Texas families with comfort and clarity.
• Contingency Fee Basis: We handle these cases on a contingency fee, meaning you pay no upfront costs. Our fee comes only if we successfully recover compensation for you. Learn how this works in our video on contingency fees.

Hazing shatters trust, health, and futures. If your family is facing this crisis, you do not have to navigate it alone against powerful institutions. We are here to listen, to investigate fiercely, and to fight for the accountability and compensation your child deserves.

Contact us today for a free, confidential case evaluation.
Call Attorney911 at 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
Visit our website: https://attorney911.com
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Legal Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this does not create an attorney-client relationship. Each case is unique, and outcomes depend on specific facts and law. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney directly to discuss your situation.