Gil Harrington, mother of murdered Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, announced Monday that she has filed a civil lawsuit against Regional Marketing Concepts for failing to protect her daughter the night she was abducted after leaving a concert at John Paul Jones Arena. Regional Marketing Concepts was the company responsible for event security that night.
Security for John Paul Jones Arena declined to comment on the matter, and the Harringtons could not be reached by phone.
University Police Lt. Melissa Fielding said RMC Events Inc. hired its own security for the concert that took place at the arena.
"We are here for law enforcement purposes and safety is a part of that," Fielding said. "[But] the police department was not notified that Morgan was in need of assistance [Saturday night] ... by any citizen or any member of the security group."
Online court records for Roanoke County Circuit Court list the claim as a "catch-all" complaint. Law Prof. George Rutherglen said this label denotes "miscellaneous civil action."
Harrington's disappearance occurred after she walked out of the concert at the arena and was not allowed to return inside. After she was abducted in 2009, the University released a "University of Virginia Statement on John Paul Jones Arena Re-entry Policy" saying this policy was "typical of most major event venues."
It cited "crowd control" as the reason for this policy. However, the statement also says "exceptions ... are made for urgent matters that are brought to the attention of management by members of our trained staff."
The current policy for arena re-entry is the same. The John Paul Jones Arena website states, "exiting and reentering with the same ticket is not permitted."
Rhonda Rogers, senior deputy clerk for the Roanoke County Circuit Court, said no trial date has been set for the Harrington case. "It's up to the parties involved," she said. "If they settle beforehand there is no trial."
In a press conference Monday, the Harringtons continued to push for anyone with any information about the case to come forward. "It doesn't matter how small it is," said Dan Harrington, Morgan's father. "We need to remember that the person who did this is still at large."
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