Mayhem Frat Blew Its Second Chance

A report from Michigan State Police sheds light on history between Treetops Resort near Gaylord and the now-disbanded Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity at the University of Michigan. (Photo via Flickr / Creative Commons)

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The case of a disgraced University of Michigan fraternity’s wild ski weekend last winter keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

This week, Treetops Resort management personnel said they owe it to prominent auto industry investors, insurers and the entire northern Michigan hospitality industry to recoup the $430,000 spent picking and fixing up after the carnage, and to pay for staff time spent dealing with the whole mess and restoring the resort’s tarnished reputation.

So, Treetops warned members of Sigma Alpha Mu and sister sorority Sigma Delta Tau, get lawyers.

And the world, it seems, cheered the action – at least, if the comments on a Patch.com story about the planned civil lawsuit against individual fraternity members are an indiction of public support for the resort.

“The brats should be in jail!” someone said.

“As much as it would crush me to the core, if my kid was even close to this resort when this happened I would turn them in myself,” wrote another.

“They need to get a roster of every kid who attended that weekend and then sue them all,” someone else said “Watch how fast the ones who weren’t involved sell out the ones who were and then file criminal charges and civil suits against them.”

And Then, This Happened:

According to a Michigan State Police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press, the group also raised a ruckus last year and was invited back.

The police report reveals that security guards were told by management of the Treetops Resort to ignore “bad behavior,” which included “mooning” other guests’ young children. The guards were reportedly told not to try to stop a melee that resulted in destroyed ceiling tiles and exit signs, broken furniture and doors, and urine-stained carpeting.

Treetops, in a statement to the Free Press Wednesday, denied ever having told its security guards to stand down.

“Treetops management never instructed its security personnel to allow the University of Michigan student group to commit acts of vandalism and intentional destruction of property at the resort,” the statement read.

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“Damage was not a concern” when the fraternity returned this year, according to the police report, “only the safety of the other guests.”

Yes, Treetops lawyer Paul Dillon told the Free Press, the fraternity was invited back after paying a $11,500 penalty for having too many guests in 2014. The resort looked at it as a case of kids being kids.

“There was never a feeling that there were any intentional acts by the group in the preceding year,” Dillon said.

And Then, Someone Put Two and Two Together and Came Up With This:

It turns out that Treetops, whose damage claim has skyrocketed to $430,000 from an original estimate of $100,000, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2014.

Attorney John Minock, who represents two Sigma Alpha Mu members facing criminal charges, told the Free Press it looks to him like the civil lawsuit is a grab in court for “extra money for renovation,” which he said was estimated at $12 million in the bankruptcy filing.

Besides, he said, Treetops’ insurer has already paid $200,000, and the fraternity has paid $25,000.

“The insurance company has already paid nearly $200,000 to the resort,” Minock said. “And now they want an additional $230,000 for damage to reputation?”

Minock claims his clients even asked for more security when the party escalated into a melee, but the “hotel guards did nothing.”

Dillon defends the lawsuit, and stands behind Treetops security for not giving the revelers the boot.

“There are damages beyond what the insurance company has already been paid,” Dillon said “There’s been tremendous personal property damage. Some rooms can’t get leased ...I think that certain clientele look at the resort differently than they did before.”

Catch Up on This Story:

• Ski Resort to Sue Fraternity Revelers Who Caused $430K in Damage
• Frat Disbanded after $430K Carnage at Ski Resort
• Wild Weekend Frat Party Causes $430K of Damage at Ski Resort: Owner
• U-M Fraternity’s Parent Sues for Control of Bank Account

As for the resorts open-arms approach to a fraternity with a reputation, Dillon acknowledged that though “rambunctious and a little boisterous” in 2014, the fraternity took responsibility by paying the penalty for too many guests.

“But what took place on Saturday night (in January) was at a level that was completely different than what anyone had seen at the resort before,” Dillon said.

Treetops believes the damage that night was intentional and in retaliation for a verbal reprimand and a billing dispute with management earlier on that Saturday. In hindsight, Dillon said, Treetops may have misplaced its trust in the students when they said they’d keep their revelry in check.

In retrospect, Dillon said, there came a time in the evening that guests should have been told their behavior was out of line.

“But at the Treetops Resort .... a decision to call police to evict a group .... is not a decision that would be made by a lone security guard,” Dillon told the newspaper.

(Photo courtesy of Treetops Resort)