Parents of Lauren Spierer ask judge to seal information in lawsuit

Attorneys for the parents of missing Indiana University student Lauren Spierer are asking a federal judge for a protective order to keep private some evidence in their lawsuit against two men who were with their daughter in the hours before she disappeared.

In a motion filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Robert and Mary Charlene Spierer asked District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt to issue an order "preventing public dissemination of sensitive and private information" that may be included in documents filed in court as the case moves toward a trial.

The filing is the latest development in the lawsuit the Greenburgh, N.Y., couple filed against Jason Rosenbaum and Corey Rossman. It claims the two men gave their daughter alcohol while knowing she was intoxicated and owed her a "duty of care."

Spierer disappeared in the early-morning hours of June 3, 2011, after a night of partying with friends, including Rosenbaum and Rossman. Her disappearance remains under investigation.

The new request for a protective order says "the production of sensitive and private information and materials ... in this case is anticipated, as is the production of certain private information regarding non-parties." The couple say the order is needed "to prevent the harm that would result from the unnecessary public dissemination of private information relating to the parties and non-parties and ongoing criminal investigations."

The request also asks that all material deemed confidential be destroyed within 30 days of final termination of the case.

Attorneys for the two men deny the Spierers' allegations in the lawsuit and ask that the court not award damages against the men. Rossman also has a motion pending that seeks dismissal of the lawsuit.

Rossman and Rosenbaum have pointed blame at Lauren Spierer and Kilroy's Sports Bar, in Bloomington, where Spierer was seen drinking hours before she disappeared. Kilroy's is not a party to the Spierers' lawsuit.

The judge in December dismissed one count of the Spierers' complaint brought under a 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.

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