ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The parents of a Florida A&M University drum major who died after being hazed will have to wait to find out whether their negligence lawsuit against the school can move forward.
After hearing arguments from both sides, an Orlando judge said Friday that he needs time to decide whether the lawsuit should go to a jury or be dismissed.
An attorney for Robert Champion's family told Judge Donald Myers that the school had a duty to ensure the welfare of students.
But the school's attorney said that Champion, of Decatur, Georgia, voluntarily participated in the hazing and that university officials didn't know it was going on.
Champion died after he was pummeled by fellow band members with fists and mallets aboard a bus parked at an Orlando hotel in November 2011.
