Two families of victims killed in the Va. Tech massacre will be allowed to proceed in their lawsuit against two top university officials and employees of a counseling center.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge William Alexander ruled in favor of the families of Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde, reports The Washington Post. Alexander is also allowing the lawsuit to continue against three employees of the university’s Cook Counseling Center.
University President Charles Steger and former executive vice president James Hyatt argued that they were protected under sovereign immunity; however, the protection doesn’t apply during claims of gross negligence. The victims’ families are alleging the school didn’t take action in warning the students during the April 2007 shooting.
A recent report detailing the shooting revealed senior university administrators did not send a campus-wide notification about the attack until two hours after the initial shots were fired.
The families of Peterson and Pryde are the only two that did not take an $11 million settlement from the state in June 2008.
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