Penn State filed a lawsuit last week requesting the court transfer the premises of the former Phi Delta Theta fraternity to the university.
The Nov. 25 suit, filed in Centre County Court, is against the Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the 240 North Burrowes Road Alumni Association, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also requests the court appoint "one or more arbitrators" to determine a sale price for the property.
Because the fraternity lost its charter last year and was expelled from the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity, Penn State believes it has the right to purchase the property per its 1905 deed.
The deed for the property at 240 N. Burrowes Road states the university reserves the right to purchase the property "if, for any reason, the said premises should cease to be used as a chapter or fraternity house for the use, benefit and behoof" of the Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
The former Phi Delta Theta members are in the process of becoming the Phi Society, which has no affiliation with the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity, said Sandy Deveney, a member of the Board of Directors of the 240 North Burrowes Road Alumni Association. The association was formerly known as the Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of the Phi Delta Fraternity, according to the lawsuit.
Though Penn State contests the deed states the property should house Phi Delta Theta fraternity members, the alumni association interprets the deed differently than the university, Deveney, Class of 1970, said.
"Our interpretation is that it has to be occupied as a fraternity house," Deveney, said, adding the association believes the fraternity occupying the house does not necessarily have to be the Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta.
The lawsuit is "aimed at bringing to a close several years of controversy," university spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said Monday.
Members of the fraternity were found in violation of Phi Delta Theta's national dry-house policy during the Ohio State football weekend in October 2007, which resulted in the suspension of the fraternity's charter in December by the General Council of the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity.
The International Fraternity notified all former members in March they were expelled from membership after it was determined new members were initiated while the fraternity was suspended.
The university offered to purchase the property for $900,000 on July 22, but the offer was rejected by the house corporation. The university was previously in talks to purchase the property in 2004, but the deal broke down after internal dispute by Phi Delta Theta alumni.
In August, members of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity moved into the property, living alongside the former Phi Delta Theta members.
Deveney said the alumni association anticipated the lawsuit and plans to "obtain counsel."
"We're going to do whatever it takes to defend ourselves, to come to the conclusion that we want: that the property remains a fraternity house," Deveney said.
However, Penn State would not be able to recognize the Phi Society as a fraternity because the university does not recognize local fraternities under the Greek Pride Initiative of 2004, said Roy Baker, director of fraternity and sorority life.
"The thing we want to emphasize is that it's not a dispute between the university, the greek life office and the students," Baker said. "The dispute is between the alumni, the undergraduate program and the international fraternity, which has resulted in what the university feels is our right to purchase the chapter house."
At the house at 240 N. Burrowes Road Monday night, former Phi Delta Theta President Kevin Haslam referred all questions to Deveney.
"We'd been expecting it," he said of the lawsuit, refusing to comment further.
According to a Monday press release on Penn State Live, "university officials hope the courts will expedite the enforcement of the provisions of the 1905 deed."
