The family of missing Indiana University student, Lauren Spierer, has filed a civil negligence suit against three of their daughter's classmates who were with Spierer the night she disappeared from the Bloomington campus two years ago.
The suit names Corey Rossman, Jason Rosenbaum and Michael Beth as defendants. These three male students are charged with 'negligence resulting in the disappearance, death or injury of an adult child.' Rossman and Rosenbaum face additional charges of 'negligence per se' and 'dram shop,' accusing them of forcing alcohol on someone who is already drunk.
The lawsuit asks for a jury trial against the defendants and monetary damages.
Spierer, 20, was a fashion merchandise major from Greenburg who vanished in June 2011. Robert and Charlene Spierer, parents of the missing student filed the lawsuit at the Monroe Circuit Court after their lawyer, Jason Barclay warned the couple that they 'would lose certain legal rights' if they failed to file anything before the two-year anniversary of their daughter's disappearance.
"We hope no one will misinterpret this action," Barclay said. "Any parent in search of information about a missing child would use every resource available to them. Therefore, we intend to use the rights afforded by the civil justice system to obtain answers to questions that have gone unanswered for too long. We fully expect that those with relevant information will cooperate with this process."
The complaint states that Spierer was partying in Bloomington with her fellow students at their apartments and at a local sports bar- Kilroy's.
The lawsuit further says that Spierer attended a party at Rosenbaum's condo that night and was highly under the influence of alcohol. She and Rossman left together and stopped at his place, which was two doors away from Rosenbaum's condo. Beth was already there at Rossman's condo.
"Beth observed that Spierer was extremely intoxicated and witnessed Rossman encourage Spierer to join him at Kilroy's Sports Bar," the lawsuit says, and claims that Rossman told Beth that "I want to have three more drinks at the bar and then I'll be feeling good."
The lawsuit claims that Spierer was unable to stand on her feet and depended on Rossman's assistance to walk to Kilroy's. Even then, he gave her several drinks. The duo left the bar together headed to her apartment building.
"Shortly thereafter, Spierer was observed by multiple individuals in a distressed, incoherent and nonresponsive state near the elevator," the lawsuit said.
Rossmann got involved in a fight with a few students on Spierer's floor and got hit in the face. Instead of leaving Spierer at her apartment, Rossman took her up to his place. Beth found that 'Spierer was slurring in her speech and was far more intoxicated than she had appeared earlier in the evening.'
Beth tried to convince Spierer to sleep over and then brought her to Rosenbaum's residence. Rosenbaum then requested some mutual friends to drop her home. However, when nobody obliged he let her leave on her own at about 4:30 a.m.
"We still believe that she may not have left Corey and Mike's or Jay's apartment," Rob said.
"Rosenbaum was the last known person with Spierer while she was alive," the lawsuit says. "After nearly two years of intensive searches, Spierer has never been located and is presumed to have suffered injuries that resulted in her death," adding: "Spierer's abandonment in an intoxicated and disoriented state in the early morning hours of June 3, 2011, in an area known for criminal acts contributed to her disappearance and presumed injuries and death."
She was last seen shortly after 4:00 a.m., when she was spotted walking toward the corner of 11th Street and College Avenue.
The lawsuit blames the three men saying that they 'owed Spierer a duty of care' and that their actions 'breached that duty.'
