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Trevor Godfrey in November 2012.(Photo: News-Leader file photo)Buy Photo

A jury awarded $1.63 million in damages Friday after a man claimed to be the victimof a "knockout game" outside a 2012 fraternity party near Missouri State University, court documents show.

According to a lawsuit filed in Greene County court, Trevor Godfrey went outside to move his car on the 1100 block of East Elm Street on a January 2012 weekend when several men from a nearby fraternity party struck Godfrey from behind, knocking him unconscious.

The lawyers representingGodfrey said in a news release that the fraternity, the Omicron Kappa chapter ofOmega Psi Phi,did not do enough to create a safe environment at the party.

According to the release,Godfrey, who was an MSU student at the time of the incident, was awarded$1 million in punitive damages and $630,000 in actual damages.

A Greene County jury deliberated for nearly three hours Friday night before reaching a verdict, online court records show.

Steve Garner, Godfrey's attorney, explained that the punitive damages are not covered by the fraternity's insurance and can't be collected, though the actual damages are covered by insurance.

"MSU has great rules to protect those who attend fraternity and sorority parties and those who come in contact with the party. In fact, I cannot imagine any rules that are better," Garner wrote in an email. "This was an instance where the rules were not followed and there was no security to monitor this party. I have nothing negative to say about this fraternity."

A Springfield police report was admitted as part of the court record.

In that report, a Springfield police officer who responded to the 2012 incident wrote that Godfrey was found with blood on his face and mouth and was "very disoriented." Another person told the officer he, too, had been struck in the head by an unknown person outside the party.

According to the police report, people attending the party said they didn't see or know anything.

Godfrey's mother told the News-Leader in 2012 that her son "was left for dead, basically."

Police records indicate officers interviewed numerous people over the next two years, including MSU Athletic Director Kyle Moats, who told police his staff interviewed football players about the incident.

Around the time of the incident, MSU President Clif Smart said the university administration did everything it could to "help find out who the assailant is."

"We have not been successful, and neither have the police and neither has the Godfrey family," Smart said.

According to a police spokesman, no charges were ever filed in regard to the January 2012 incident and the case is closed.

In 2014, Godfrey filed a lawsuit against several individuals. Later, the Omicron Kappa chapter of Omega Psi Phi was added as a defendant in the case.

The attorney who represented the fraternity chapter said no judgment has been entered yet, as the jury's verdict can be appealed.

According to an MSU spokeswoman, there are active members of the fraternity on campus, though the fraternity has not fully registered with the university.

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Jury awards $1.63 million in 'knockout game' suit against fraternity near MSU - Springfield News-Leader