A judge ruled on Monday that the parents of a missing college student can go forward with their wrongful death lawsuit, USA TODAY reported.
The ruling was handed down in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Robert and Charlene Spierer, of Greenburgh, N.Y., filed their lawsuit in June, arguing that the three men last seen with their missing daughter, Lauren, owed her a "duty of care."
However, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt dismissed one count brought on by the Spierer family against the defendants, brought under the Child Wrongful Death Statute and claiming "loss of a child's services," since their daughter was an adult when she disappeared.
Pratt approved two other counts based on the family's allegations that Jason Rosenbaum and Corey Rossman gave their daughter alcohol while knowing she was already drunk, or counts of "negligence per se" and "dram shop" -- terms used when damages are sought after someone gives a clearly intoxicated person more alcohol. In the state, the Indiana Dram Shop Act provides consequences for anyone charged with giving someone more alcohol after they're already intoxicated.
Earlier this month, Pratt threw out a negligence lawsuit against a third man, Michael Beth, who was also seen with Spierer on the night she went missing. However, the judge agreed with Beth's attorney, who argued that just because Beth saw Spierer that night does not mean he was liable for her. Beth's attorney also argued Spierer was responsible for herself.
Spierer, who attended Indiana University, when missing on June 3, 2011, after a night of drinking with friends at a local bar called Kilroy's.
Quickly after the college student went missing, friends and family actively used social media sites and created their own website dedicated to finding Spierer. The Twitter account (@NewsOnLaurenS), active with updates, has almost 30,000 followers.
Her disappearance remains under investigation.
