Men deny responsibility in Lauren Spierer disappearance

Attorneys for two men who were with Indiana University student Lauren Spierer before she went missing in June 2011 have filed responses in federal court to allegations they played a role in the student’s disappearance.

The filings on behalf of Jason Rosenbaum and Corey Rossman are the latest developments in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Spierer’s parents, Robert and Charlene Spierer of Greenburgh, N.Y. In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in June, they argue that the two men owed their daughter a “duty of care.”

In documents filed Monday, attorneys for Rosenbaum and Rossman deny the Spierers’ allegations and ask that the court not award damages against the men.

Rossman and Rosenbaum both point blame at Lauren Spierer and Kilroy’s Sports Bar, where Spierer was seen drinking hours before she disappeared. Kilroy’s is not a party to the Spierers’ lawsuit.

Rossman also noted that he “had no control or right of control” over Spierer that night. Rosenbaum added the Spierer’s alleged damages “were caused in whole or in part by the comparative fault of Lauren Spierer.”

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt in December dismissed one count of the Spierers’ complaint brought under the Child Wrongful Death Statute. But the judge let two other counts in the complaint go forward, based on the Spierers’ allegations that Rosenbaum and Rossman gave Lauren Spierer alcohol while knowing she was intoxicated.

Those counts accuse Rosenbaum and Rossman of “negligence per se” and “dram shop,” a legal term used when damages are sought for providing alcohol to someone who is clearly intoxicated.

In December, the judge threw out the negligence lawsuit against a third individual, Michael Beth, who also was seen with Spierer the night she disappeared. In that ruling, Pratt agreed with Beth’s lawyer that Beth wasn’t liable just because he saw Spierer while she was intoxicated.

Spierer’s disappearance in the early-morning hours of June 3, 2011, after a night of partying with friends, remains under investigation.

Call Star reporter Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.