The Definitive Guide to Hazing Lawsuits & Campus Accountability for East Texas Families in Mound City

For a parent in Mound City or anywhere in Houston County, the nightmare often begins with a cryptic text message. Your son at Sam Houston State University sounds exhausted on the phone but insists, “I’m fine, it’s just part of the process.” Your daughter, a new member of a University of Houston sorority, suddenly has her location shared 24/7 with older members and gets anxious if her phone isn’t within reach. You hear whispers about late-night “workouts,” mandatory “study sessions” that end at 3 a.m., or a “family reveal” party where dangerous amounts of alcohol are consumed. This is not tradition—it is hazing, and it is a crime in Texas. Right now, in Houston, our firm is leading one of the most serious hazing lawsuits in the state. We represent Leonel Bermudez, a University of Houston student who suffered catastrophic kidney failure after brutal hazing by the Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu chapter, and we are fighting for a $10 million settlement on his behalf. This case proves that the most dangerous forms of hazing are not relics of the past; they are happening right now at Texas universities where Mound City families send their children. This comprehensive guide is written for you—the parents, students, and community members of Mound City, Lovelady, Crockett, and across East Texas—to understand the reality of hazing, the law that protects your child, and how to fight for accountability when institutions fail.

IMMEDIATE HELP FOR HAZING EMERGENCIES:
If your child is in danger or has been seriously injured in connection with fraternity, sorority, Corps, or athletic activities:

• Call 911 for any medical emergency.
• Then call Attorney911: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). We provide immediate legal help.
• In the first 48 hours: Get medical attention, preserve ALL digital evidence (screenshots of group chats, photos of injuries), write down everything you remember, and contact our firm. Do NOT confront the organization, sign anything from the university, or let your child delete messages.

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

Hazing has evolved far beyond the stereotypical “prank.” For today’s students at Sam Houston State, the University of Houston, or Texas A&M, hazing is a calculated system of control that exploits technology, psychology, and tradition to inflict harm while evading detection. Texas law (Education Code Chapter 37) defines hazing as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers the mental or physical health of a student for the purpose of initiation or affiliation with a group. Crucially, a victim’s “consent” is not a defense.

Modern Hazing Methods We See in Texas Cases:

• Digital Servitude & Surveillance: Pledges are required to have location-sharing (Find My Friends, Life360) always active, respond to group chat messages (GroupMe, Discord) within minutes at all hours, and surrender social media passwords for monitoring.
• Disguised Physical Abuse: Extreme “workouts” framed as “conditioning” (e.g., 500 squats, 100+ push-ups until collapse), exposure to extreme elements, or forced consumption of unpalatable substances (hot dogs, milk, peppercorns) until vomiting. This was a central feature of the Leonel Bermudez UH Pi Kappa Phi case, leading to his rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure.
• Psychological Coercion: Sleep deprivation through mandatory overnight “study” sessions or 3 a.m. wake-up calls, enforced isolation from non-members, and humiliating interviews or “roasts” designed to break down self-esteem.
• Alcohol & Substance Coercion: The “Big/Little” reveal, “family tree” drinking games, or lineups where pledges are forced to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol or unknown substances. This remains the leading cause of hazing deaths nationwide.
• Sexualized & Degrading Rituals: Forced nudity, simulated sexual acts (the “elephant walk,” “roasted pig”), or humiliating costumes and props. In a recent Texas A&M Corps case, a cadet alleged being bound in a degrading position with an apple in his mouth.

Hazing occurs in fraternities, sororities, the Corps of Cadets, athletic teams, spirit groups like the Texas Cowboys, and even academic clubs. For families in Mound City, understanding these modern tactics is the first step in recognizing the danger your child may be facing at a Texas campus.

2. The Flagship Case: Leonel Bermudez vs. University of Houston & Pi Kappa Phi

To understand the seriousness and complexity of a modern Texas hazing case, look no further than the lawsuit we are actively litigating right now in Harris County. This is not a historical example; it is proof of the ongoing fight for accountability that Attorney911 leads.

The Victim: Leonel Bermudez, a transfer student and fall 2025 pledge of the Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu chapter at the University of Houston.

The Hazing Conduct (As Detailed in Media Reports):
The hazing was systematic and severe, occurring at the UH Pi Kappa Phi house, a Culmore Drive residence, and Yellowstone Boulevard Park. It included:

• The “pledge fanny pack” rule: Pledges were forced to carry a fanny pack 24/7 containing condoms, a sex toy, nicotine devices, and other humiliating items.
• Enforced servitude: Mandatory dress codes, hours-long “study/work” blocks, weekly interrogative interviews, and overnight chauffeuring duties for members.
• Extreme physical and psychological abuse:
  • Sprints, bear crawls, wheelbarrow races, and “save-your-brother” drills.
  • Being stripped to underwear in cold weather and forced to lie in vomit-soaked grass.
  • Being sprayed in the face with a hose “similar to waterboarding” with threats of actual waterboarding.
  • Forced consumption of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until vomiting, followed immediately by more sprints.
  • On November 3, 2025, Bermudez was forced to perform over 100 push-ups and 500 squats under threat of expulsion from the pledge class.
  • Another pledge was allegedly hog-tied face-down on a table with an object in his mouth for over an hour on October 13.

The Medical Catastrophe:
After the November 3 workout, Bermudez’s condition rapidly deteriorated. He became unable to stand without help and began passing brown urine—a classic sign of muscle breakdown. Rushed to the hospital by his mother, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis (severe skeletal muscle breakdown) and acute kidney failure. His creatine kinase (CK) levels were critically elevated. He was hospitalized for four days and faces an ongoing risk of permanent kidney damage.

The Legal Response & Our Role:
Attorney911 (attorneys Ralph Manginello and Mr. Lupe Peña) filed a $10 million lawsuit in late 2025. The defendants include:

1. University of Houston and the UH System Board of Regents
2. Pi Kappa Phi national headquarters
3. The Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu housing corporation
4. 13 individual fraternity leaders/members, including the chapter president, pledgemaster, sorority relations chair, and risk manager.

Institutional Actions:

• Nov 6, 2025: Pi Kappa Phi HQ suspended the Beta Nu chapter.
• Nov 14, 2025: Chapter members voted to surrender their charter; the chapter was shut down.
• UH called the alleged conduct “deeply disturbing,” promised disciplinary measures up to expulsion, and pledged cooperation with law enforcement.

This case is the anchor of our hazing litigation practice. For Mound City families, it demonstrates the catastrophic injuries that can occur, the web of liability (from individual members to national organizations), and the aggressive approach required to secure justice. You can read the detailed media coverage of this case from Click2Houston and ABC13.

3. The Texas Greek Ecosystem: A Public Records Directory for Mound City Parents

If your child is hazed, you are not just up against a group of students. You are confronting a network of legally recognized organizations with tax IDs, insurance policies, and national affiliations. At Attorney911, we maintain a Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine built from public records to demystify this system. This data-driven approach is critical to building a successful case.

For parents in Mound City, Houston County, and East Texas, here is a snapshot of the Greek organizational landscape that may be connected to your child’s university:

Public Records: Fraternities, Sororities & Greek Organizations Serving Texas Families

A. Houston Metro Area & Statewide Entities (From IRS B83 Filings):

• Beta Nu Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation Inc, EIN 46-2267515, Frisco, TX 75035
• Pi Kappa Phi Delta Omega Chapter Building Corporation, EIN 37-1768785, Missouri City, TX 77459
• Sigma Chi Fraternity Epsilon Xi Chapter, EIN 74-6084905, Houston, TX 77204 (University of Houston)
• Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity Inc – Theta Delta, EIN 47-5370943, Houston, TX 77204 (University of Houston)
• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc – Sigma Gamma Chapter, EIN 39-2352450, Houston, TX 77254
• University of Houston–Victoria Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, EIN 90-0293167, Victoria, TX 77901
• Texas A&M University Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, EIN 90-0293166, College Station, TX 77843
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc, EIN 74-1380362, Fort Worth, TX 76147
• Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity Texas Eta, EIN 82-4398421, Richmond, TX 77406

B. Major Campus Chapter Housing Corporations (From Cause IQ Metro Data):

• Sigma Alpha Epsilon – Texas Rho Corp., Austin, TX (University of Texas chapter house corp.)
• Delta Tau Delta – Gamma Iota Chapter House Corp., Austin, TX (University of Texas)
• Building Corporation – Alpha Delta Pi (Delta), Austin, TX (University of Texas chapter property)
• Beta Xi House Corp. of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Austin, TX (University of Texas)
• Sigma Chi Fraternity – Eta Upsilon Chapter, College Station, TX (Texas A&M University)

C. Sam Houston State University & East Texas Connections:

• Alpha Tau Omega Housing Corporation of Eta Iota Chapter, EIN 30-0517788, Nacogdoches, TX 75965 (Stephen F. Austin State University)
• Phi Kappa Psi Texas Epsilon Chapter, EIN 45-2729519, Nacogdoches, TX 75965 (Stephen F. Austin State University)
• Chi Omega Fraternity – Epsilon Zeta, EIN 75-6041410, Nacogdoches, TX 75965
• Epsilon Tau Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity, EIN 75-6053083, Nacogdoches, TX 75961

This directory, compiled from thousands of public records, illustrates a key point: behind every fraternity or sorority chapter is a maze of legal entities—house corporations, alumni associations, educational foundations, and national headquarters. When hazing occurs, each of these layers may carry insurance or liability. Our job is to identify and pursue every responsible party, just as we did in the Bermudez lawsuit by suing the national fraternity, the local housing corporation, the university, and the individual members.

4. Where Mound City Families Send Their Kids: Campus Hazing Realities

Parents in Mound City and surrounding Houston County communities have children spread across the Texas higher education system. The hazing risk exists at large state schools, regional universities, and private institutions.

Universities Most Relevant to Mound City & East Texas Families:

• Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, TX – Walker County): As the closest major university, SHSU has active Greek life and student organizations. Hazing incidents here would fall under the jurisdiction of Walker County courts and the Huntsville PD, with potential civil actions connected to entities in our public records database.
• Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, TX – Nacogdoches County): Another key regional university for East Texas students, with a significant Greek presence. Our data shows multiple registered fraternity housing corporations in Nacogdoches.
• University of Houston (Harris County): A primary destination and the site of our flagship Bermudez case. UH has a large, complex Greek system with dozens of fraternities and sororities under multiple councils (IFC, Panhellenic, NPHC, MGC).
• Texas A&M University (Brazos County): Known for its Corps of Cadets and powerful Greek life. A&M has faced serious hazing allegations, including a Sigma Alpha Epsilon case where pledges suffered chemical burns requiring skin grafts and a Corps of Cadets “roasted pig” bondage lawsuit.
• University of Texas at Austin (Travis County): UT maintains a public hazing violations log, providing transparency about which groups have been sanctioned. Violations have included Pi Kappa Alpha chapters forcing new members to consume milk and perform extreme calisthenics.
• Other Common Destinations: Texas State University, Texas Tech University, Baylor University, and Southern Methodist University.

The Institutional Pattern: Universities often publicly condemn hazing while their internal disciplinary systems produce lenient, private outcomes—probation, temporary suspensions, or educational seminars. True accountability for life-altering injuries often only comes through civil litigation, which can compel the disclosure of hidden records and prior incidents.

5. The Law & Liability: A Texas Hazing Lawsuit Explained

Texas Hazing Law (Education Code Chapter 37):

• Definition: Broadly covers any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers physical or mental health for purposes of initiation/affiliation. Location does not matter—off-campus hazing is still illegal.
• Criminal Penalties: Ranges from a Class B misdemeanor to a State Jail Felony if the hazing causes serious bodily injury or death. Individuals can also be charged for failing to report hazing.
• Civil Liability: Separate from criminal charges. Victims can sue for damages including medical costs, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and lost future earnings. In wrongful death cases, families can recover funeral costs and loss of companionship.
• Key Provision – Sec. 37.155: “Consent Not a Defense.” A victim’s agreement to participate is irrelevant under Texas law. This directly counters the common defense of “they wanted to do it.”

Who Can Be Sued in a Civil Hazing Case?

1. Individual Perpetrators: The members who planned, executed, or covered up the hazing.
2. The Local Chapter: As an unincorporated association or via its officers.
3. The National Organization: For negligent supervision, failure to enforce policies, or having prior knowledge of risky traditions. In the Bermudez case, we sued Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters.
4. The University: For deliberate indifference to a known risk, negligent supervision, or violations of Title IX if the hazing is sexualized. Public universities (UH, Texas A&M, UT) have sovereign immunity limitations, but exceptions exist.
5. Housing Corporations & Alumni Associations: The property owners and financial backers (like those listed in our Public Records Directory).
6. Third Parties: Landlords of off-campus houses or bars that furnished alcohol.

6. Building a Case with Attorney911’s Data Engine & Experience

When you contact us about a potential hazing case, we don’t start from scratch. We deploy the same investigative rigor and strategic advantage that we use in our active litigation against UH and Pi Kappa Phi.

Our Investigative Process for Mound City Families:

1. Immediate Evidence Preservation: We guide you through securing digital evidence before it disappears. As we explain in our video on using your phone to document a legal case, this includes screenshots of GroupMe chats, Instagram DMs, location-sharing data, and photos of injuries.
2. Leveraging the Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine: We cross-reference the involved organization with our proprietary database of 1,423 Texas Greek entities. We identify every related legal entity (EINs, addresses) that may hold insurance or liability.
3. Uncovering Pattern Evidence: We subpoena the national fraternity/sorority’s records for prior hazing incidents at other chapters. This establishes “foreseeability”—proving the national organization knew the risks of its traditions.
4. Navigating Insurance Coverage Fights: This is where Mr. Lupe Peña’s experience as a former insurance defense attorney is invaluable. He knows how insurers for fraternities and universities try to deny claims using “intentional act” exclusions. We fight to secure coverage and maximize compensation.
5. Calculating Full Damages: We work with medical experts, life-care planners, and economists to build a comprehensive picture of damages—not just current bills, but future medical care, therapy, lost earning potential, and profound non-economic harm like PTSD and loss of college experience.

Why Attorney911 for Your Hazing Case?

• Active Litigators: We are not theorists; we are in court right now on the Bermudez $10M case. We know the current tactics of university and fraternity defense teams.
• BP Texas City Explosion Experience: Partner Ralph Manginello was involved in litigation against BP, proving our capability against billion-dollar institutional defendants with vast legal resources.
• Dual Civil/Criminal Insight: 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 adeptly advise clients navigating both systems.
• Spanish-Language Services: Mr. Peña speaks fluent Spanish, ensuring we can serve all Texas families with compassion and clarity.

7. Practical Steps for Mound City Parents & Students

If You Suspect Hazing:

1. Talk to Your Child: Use open-ended questions. “What does a typical week look like for your new member class?” “Has anything made you feel uncomfortable or unsafe?”
2. Look for Signs: Unexplained injuries, severe fatigue, anxiety around phone notifications, withdrawal from family, sudden secrecy, declining grades.
3. Document Everything: Write down dates, times, and what your child shares. If they show you messages, take pictures with another phone.

If Hazing Has Caused Injury:

1. Prioritize Health: Seek medical attention immediately. Tell the doctor exactly what happened—this creates a critical medical record.
2. Preserve Evidence: Do NOT delete any messages, photos, or social media posts. Secure any physical items (clothing, paddles).
3. Report Carefully: You can report to campus police or the Dean of Students, but understand the university’s primary interest is limiting its own liability.
4. Contact Us Before: Do NOT speak to insurance adjusters, sign university settlement offers, or let your child be interviewed by the organization without an attorney. These are common mistakes that can ruin a case, as we detail in our video on client mistakes that can ruin your injury case.
5. Know the Deadline: Texas generally has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims, but the clock starts ticking the day of the injury. Watch our video on Texas statutes of limitations and contact us promptly.

8. Call to Action for Mound City & East Texas

Hazing shatters lives and betrays the trust families place in universities and student organizations. The path to recovery and accountability is complex, but you do not have to walk it alone.

If your child has been injured, humiliated, or abused in connection with a fraternity, sorority, Corps of Cadets, athletic team, or other campus group, the time to act is now. Evidence fades, witnesses scatter, and institutions close ranks.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC (Attorney911) for a free, confidential, and immediate case evaluation. We serve families across Texas from our offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, and we are committed to fighting for East Texas families in Mound City, Crockett, Lovelady, and throughout Houston County.

Call the Legal Emergency Lawyers™ 24/7: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
Direct: (713) 528-9070 | Cell: (713) 443-4781
Website: https://attorney911.com
Email: ralph@atty911.com or lupe@atty911.com

Hablamos Español. Mr. Lupe Peña provides full consultation services in Spanish.

We operate on a contingency fee basis for personal injury cases, meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case. Learn more in our video explaining how contingency fees work.

Let us use our data-driven strategy, insider insurance knowledge, and relentless advocacy to help your family find justice, secure the compensation needed for healing, and force the changes necessary to protect the next generation of Texas students.

Plain Text Links to Key Resources:

• Click2Houston coverage of UH Pi Kappa Phi case: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2025/11/21/only-on-2-lawsuit-alleges-severe-hazing-at-university-of-houstons-pi-kappa-phi-chapter-fraternity/
• ABC13 coverage of UH Pi Kappa Phi case: https://abc13.com/post/waterboarding-forced-eating-physical-punishment-lawsuit-alleges-abuse-faced-injured-pledge-uhs-pi-kappa-phi-fraternity/18186418/
• Hoodline summary of the $10M UH lawsuit: https://hoodline.com/2025/11/university-of-houston-and-pi-kappa-phi-fraternity-face-10m-lawsuit-over-alleged-hazing-and-abuse/
• Attorney911 video on documenting evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLbpzrmogTs
• Attorney911 video on statutes of limitations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRHwg8tV02c
• Attorney911 video on client mistakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3IYsoxOSxY
• Attorney911 video on contingency fees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcI_j6F7Nc
• Attorney911 main website: https://attorney911.com

Legal Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is fact-specific, and outcomes vary. If you need legal advice, please contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC for a consultation regarding your individual situation.