A $14 million wrongful-death lawsuit against ASU athletic officials and the Arizona Board of Regents was dismissed by a judge on Tuesday.
B. Lee Falkner filed a civil lawsuit against ASU head football coach Dirk Koetter, former athletic director Gene Smith and the regents after his son, former ASU football player Brandon Falkner, was killed outside a Scottsdale nightclub.
Loren Wade, another former ASU football player, was arrested in connection with the March 2005 shooting.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Houser ruled there was no special relationship by which Koetter and Smith had a duty to control Wade's off-campus conduct.
Because the duty did not exist, ABOR, Koetter and Smith cannot be liable for negligence in connection with Falkner's death, and their motion to dismiss the lawsuit was granted, Houser added in his ruling.
A special relationship is usually categorized as parent-child or guardian-ward, and it doesn't apply to an adult student and a university or its coaching staff, according to the ruling.
Jeff Pyburn, Koetter's lawyer, said he was pleased with the judge's ruling.
There was no legal precedent for Koetter or ASU to be responsible for an adult off campus after hours, Pyburn added.
Don Crampton, Falkner's lawyer, said he wanted a chance to present his case.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed," Crampton said.
If the case went forward, Crampton said he felt he could establish that the athletic department did have a special relationship with Wade and therefore a duty to control Wade's off-campus behavior.
The lawsuit dismissal has no impact on Wade's criminal case, said Bill FitzGerald, spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Wade is charged with first-degree murder, and his criminal trial date is Feb. 5, 2007.
Reach the reporter at: jeffrey.mitchell@asu.edu.
