Moonies has denied serving alcohol to a Cornell student who alleges she was later drugged and sexually assaulted by seven Chi Phi fraternity members, saying she was under 21 and barred from drinking at the venue.
The bar said it hosted a private Tri Delta event on 19 October 2024 attended by about 185 people, including 35 guests below the legal drinking age.
Moonies said underage attendees had their hands marked, while guests aged 21 and over were given wristbands. Bartenders were instructed to serve only people wearing the bands.
The student, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, alleges she had been drinking at her sorority house before going to Moonies and then another bar. She claims she later went to the Chi Phi house, where fraternity members drugged her with ketamine and sexually assaulted her.
She alleges that Moonies served her alcohol despite her marked hands and apparent intoxication. The bar rejects that account, describing the claim that its staff served her alcohol as “completely inaccurate”.
Moonies also questioned how she was able to enter another bar afterwards if she had been visibly identified as underage. It suggested that someone may have encouraged her to frame her complaint around intoxication before she arrived at Chi Phi, although it provided no evidence for that theory.
The bar further said the student later worked for an affiliated organisation and discussed the October incident, but did not say at the time that she had been intoxicated or served alcohol by a Moonies bartender.
The lawsuit names Moonies, Chi Phi, Tri Delta and their national organisations as defendants, alongside the seven fraternity members accused of drugging and sexually assaulting the student. The allegations have not been established in court.
