The civil suit involving the death of Penn State student Salvador Peter Serrano, who died in 2003 after an altercation with two bouncers outside a State College bar, will move forward today.

Louis Bové, one of the lawyers representing Serrano's party, said the suit is in its discovery stage, where both parties use methods to find out as much pertinent evidence and information regarding the case as possible.

"The parties in the lawsuit are currently taking depositions of witnesses and persons who have knowledge of the allegations made in the pleadings," he said.

The deposition process, which involves recording statements that can be used during the trial, will occur in State College at an undisclosed location.

Serrano's fiancée, Brooke Morgan, and his mother, Grace Jimenez, are scheduled for deposition along with a number of individuals from the State College Police Department, Bové said.

The civil case, separate from the criminal case, is filed with the U.S. District Court.

It will determine whether borough authorities were negligent regarding their behavior on the evening of Serrano's death.

The suit claims, in part, that the All American Rathskeller, 108 S. Pugh St., failed to properly train employees on spotting and restraining intoxicated people. The suit names nine different parties: the State College Police Department; the Rathskeller; four Rosengrant brothers who were working at the Rathskeller the night of the incident; another employee, Colin Haughton; the Gentzel Corporation; and Bluebird Entertainment.

The Gentzel Corporation is the company that owns the property where the altercation occurred, and Bluebird Entertainment is the company that owns the Rathskeller.

Attorneys representing the other parties did not return phone calls by press time yesterday.

Bové said the information learned during this week's deposition would be used to prepare for the actual trial.

"Once we complete discovery, we will be in a position to try the case," he said.

The incident occurred in October 2003 as Serrano, Morgan and two friends were walking in Calder Way behind the Rathskeller, when one friend, Timothy Padalino, stopped to urinate, according to court documents.

Rathskeller employees saw Padalino urinating and asked the group to leave, which led to an argument.

Serrano was pushed to the ground by employee Christopher Rosengrant and then restrained by another employee, Jason Rosengrant.

An investigation found Serrano had been held on the ground until police arrived. At some point while he was being restrained, Serrano vomited, choked and became unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Christopher and Jason Rosengrant were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in a December 2004 trial.

A separate civil action, Regis Insurance v. All American Rathskeller, is currently pending in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas.

Miles Kirshner, the attorney representing Regis Insurance, said the company contends that it is not responsible to pay for the alleged liability of the Rathskeller in the Serrano incident if the bar loses the civil suit.

"The harm alleged by Ms. Jimenez and Ms. Morgan arose from a physical altercation, which is excluded by the language of the policy," he said.

Regis Insurance is asking the court to issue a declaration confirming that it has no duty to pay in the event that the Rathskeller is found liable.

The Rathskeller and the plaintiffs, Jimenez and Morgan, argue that the insurer should be required to pay, Krishner said.

Oral arguments have been held on this motion, but the court has yet to rule on the matter.

The pretrial for this case was initially set for today but has been continued until April.