Clemson responds to suit over fraternity pledge's death
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Clemson University is denying allegations made in lawsuits about the death of a student who died during a fraternity run in September 2014.
The Greenville News reports the school filed the documents in the past week, answering allegations made by the parents of Tucker Hipps in an earlier lawsuit, including that he was forced to walk along a narrow railing of a bridge over South Carolina's Lake Hartwell.
The 19-year-old died in September 2014; his body was found in the water below the bridge. His family filed two lawsuits, each seeking damages of at least $25 million.
The school says it had no knowledge that Sigma Phi Epsilon had "a long tradition" of requiring pledges to jump off the bridge and swim to shore, as alleged in the lawsuits.
The teen's family has claimed there was a cover-up over the death.
"We believe they know and they're refusing to tell it. I guess you can call that a cover-up," Hipps' father Gary told CBS News in 2015.
Clemson is seeking dismissal of the lawsuits.