Education

HOUSTON (AP) ― Texas A&M University administrators are not immune from state lawsuits brought by the families of those killed or injured in the school's deadly bonfire collapse, an appeals court has ruled.

A&M administrators had argued they are protected under sovereign immunity, the state's constitutional right that prohibits government agencies and officials from being sued.

But the 10th Court of Appeals in Waco on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling that allowed the administrators to remain as defendants because they are being sued as individuals and not in their official capacities.

Twelve people died and 27 were injured in November 1999 when the 59-foot-high log stack -- burned on the eve of A&M's game with archrival University of Texas -- collapsed as it was being built.

"It's a significant ruling in that the courts are not allowing A&M officials to hide behind official immunity when they have legal responsibility for their individual conduct," said Darrell Keith, an attorney representing the families of three Aggies who were killed and two others who were injured.

Attorneys for other victims' families who are suing did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment Thursday.

"We are evaluating the court's very recent opinion and have made no decision as yet on an appeal," said Tom Kelley, a spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's Office, which is representing A&M in the lawsuits.

The university declined to comment because the case is still pending, said school spokesman Lane Stephenson.

The appeals court ruled that a Brazos County judge did not err in concluding that sovereign immunity didn't bar the lawsuits against the A&M administrators in their individual capacities.

The state lawsuits, which have been consolidated into one case in Brazos County, where the university is located, are on hold. A&M is in College Station, about 100 miles northwest of Houston.

Besides the issue of sovereign immunity related to administrators, the university is also arguing it is protected from lawsuits. The 10th Court of Appeals has previously ruled the school is immune from litigation. That issue is before the Texas Supreme Court.

"It will still be awhile before this case will go to trial and we will know who all the parties will be," Keith said. "My clients and I are looking forward to the day when these interim appeals will be concluded and we can go to trial before a jury."

Families who've filed lawsuits have already reached settlements of just under $6 million in their claims against 35 student leaders who oversaw construction of the massive log stack.

In addition to administrators, various others remain as defendants in the case, including construction and equipment leasing companies involved in helping build the bonfire.

Besides the state lawsuits, families of those killed or injured in the collapse had also filed suits in federal court.

But that litigation ended after the U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to consider a lower court ruling that A&M officials cannot be held responsible for deaths and injuries resulting from the collapse.

The 90-year-old annual bonfire tradition was put on hold by the university after the deadly collapse.

Students and alumni now carry on the tradition off campus without university support.

A five-member commission appointed by A&M blamed the collapse on flawed construction techniques and the lack of adequate supervision of students assembling the stack. The report did not blame anyone for the collapse.

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