Lawsuit filed after death of college student in Saratoga

The body of Alexander Grant was found on March 8th in a frozen Saratoga Springs Creek.
 
An investigation revealed that Grant had driven from Massachusetts to Skidmore College to visit a friend, and died after a night of partying at an off campus party.
 
On Monday, Grant's family and estate filed a $5 million dollar lawsuit against nine of the people the Boston College student was allegedly partying with, off campus, on Church Street in Saratoga Springs back on March of 2011.
 
And although the Skidmore College student Grant was in town to visit was mentioned in the civil lawsuit, he was not named as a defendant.

The 11 page lawsuit outlines, just about minute to minute, the events that allegedly unfolded in Saratoga Springs the night of March 6th, and early in the morning on March 7th 2011.

In short, it claims the victim, Alexander Grant, left the Skidmore Campus on a bus, and after getting off the bus walked to an off campus party where he drank at 146 Church Street.

It alleges he then departed the party alone because the friend he was visiting was drunk from alcohol provided by each of the defendants named into the lawsuit.

The document says after Grant left the party, he broke into a local office building, and then drowned in a nearby creek.

Attorney Dan Dagostino is with the law firm of Martin, Harding & Mazzotti.

Although he is not involved in the Grant case, he says the family will face an uphill battle trying to win this $5 million dollar civil suit.

"Based on the facts I see, and my understanding of the case so far, I feel it would be very difficult to prevail in the case so far," he said.

Dagostino says the family will first have to prove that there was a violation of the 'general obligations law.'
"You need to show that someone who was of legal age obtained the alcohol and served it to somebody who they either knew was under 21 years old, or should know was 21 years old," he said.

And the seasoned attorney says that's an extremely tough burden of proof, but, Dagostino says, an even greater challenge will be trying to prove that Alexander Grant, the victim himself, had no responsibility.

"They have to show that there is no responsibility or culpability on behalf of the decedent," Dagostino said.

"It would be different if the decedent here was younger, say 12-years-old, and not able to realize the repercussions of the consumption of alcohol, but here we’re dealing with an incident where somebody of 19-years-old should know that if you drink alcohol, there are repercussions, there are responsibilities that you take on behalf of yourself," the Martin, Harding & Mazzotti rep said.
 
Dagostino says he already knows what his strategy would be if he were to represent one of the defendants in this case.
 
"If I was representing the defense, I would use as my defense, 'assumption of risk.' I would say, 'Although some of these elements might be true, we feel that the decedent in this case assumed the risk that by coming to the party, by either asking for the alcoholic beverage, or obtaining an alcoholic beverage or obtaining an alcoholic beverage and drinking it he assumed the risk and responsibility associated with that,'" he said.
 
Dagastiono says it's the parents of the students named in the civil lawsuit who stand to lose the most.

That's why, he says, the Grant's civil suit is the perfect example as to why all parents should educate their kids about what is on the line when they make so called 'bad decisions.'

"If it's anything other than a car accident, you really should worry and wonder about where people are going to look for compensation, and where they're going to look for is your homeowner's insurance policy," Dagostino said.

The Capital Region attorney warns that if your homeowners insurance 'isn't adequate,' it puts all of your assets in jeopardy.
 
He says, "As parents, it could put your assets, and your home and your car, and your bank accounts and things like that in jeopardy. And so you need to keep your kids responsible, and let them know how it could affect you as a family if they're negligent," he said.
 
And believe it or not, Dagostino says the liability also applies to any adult children living at home.
 
He says a negligent act always puts the homeowner of the address listed as a person's primary residence, in the crosshairs.

This story appeared on FOX23.com on 4/27/12.