WAILUKU — A $1.15 million arbitrated award has been ordered for the family and estate of an 18-year-old New Jersey cheerleader who fell to her death from the ninth-floor balcony of a Kaanapali hotel in 2004.

The May 23 award was reduced by 40 percent because of Lauren Crossan's own negligence in her death, according to a determination by arbitrator Gerald Sekiya. The net amount of $690,000 was divided among her estate and parents, with $300,000 set aside for her estate, $210,000 to her mother, Diane E. Crossan, and $180,000 to her father, Charles P. Crossan Jr.

Sixty percent of what Sekiya called "comparative causal negligence" fell on Susanne Sadler, a parent who oversaw her daughter, Crossan and another cheerleader. The group had come to Maui to perform in a Hula Bowl halftime show.

Crossan family attorney James Krueger called the arbitrator's decision a "very conservative and fair award."

"I think the award was within a reasonable range," Krueger said. "I could see it doubled without batting an eye because of the severity of the grief these parents suffered."

Krueger said his investigation of the case found that Sadler failed in her responsibility to watch out for the girl's welfare. He said Sadler had promised the other girls' parents that she would take care of them, and "the families relied on that."

Sadler denied seeing Crossan drinking and denied being aware that she was intoxicated. She did not impose a curfew, he said.

"But for the negligence of the chaperon in letting these kids go out . . . the injury would never have occurred," Krueger said.

Sadler's attorney, Harvey Henderson of Honolulu, would not comment.

But in documents submitted during litigation of the case, Sadler disputed the Crossans' contention that she was acting as a chaperon for their daughter.

"While I did have some conversations with Diane Crossan in the months preceding the trip, I never represented that I would chaperon or in any way take responsibility for her adult daughter," Sadler said in an affidavit. "I was also never asked by Diane Crossan to chaperon or take responsibility for her daughter Lauren."

But documents filed by Krueger say Sadler, then Randolph (N.J.) High School booster club president, "made all trip arrangements and agreed to serve as chaperon" for the cheerleaders.

On Jan. 11, 2004, Sadler accompanied her daughter, Crossan and another New Jersey cheerleader to Maui. Within hours after arriving, Crossan was seen drinking citrus-flavored malt liquor and a large cup of vodka and cranberry juice, according to a police investigation of her death. She also went to the room of a 20-year-old Folsom, Calif., man. And, the next morning, Crossan's body was found on the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort. Her clothes, purse, cell phone and other belongings were in the man's room.

An autopsy found Crossan's blood-alcohol level at 0.17 percent, or more than twice the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol limit for being charged with driving while intoxicated.

Police questioned the California man and another man but released them. Investigators found no signs of foul play in the hotel room or a struggle on the balcony. Crossan's death has been classified as an accident.

Krueger said he expects to recover the arbitrated award through Sadler's homeowner's insurance policy, which covers her for actions that occur outside her residence.

The lawsuit against Sadler was scheduled to go to trial this fall, but Krueger said he suggested taking the matter before a professional arbitrator and resolving the matter in two to three days, instead of two to three weeks of trial.

He said the arbitrator concluded that the chaperon "clearly breached the duty she owed to the families … and had not fulfilled the promise to care properly for the kids."

He found the chaperon 60 percent responsible and Crossan 40 percent responsible "because Lauren had been drinking."

"This was binding arbitration," he said. "Whether the defense was happy or unhappy with the determination, it is not appealable."

Krueger said the decision establishes that a chaperon has a duty to be responsible for whomever he or she has agreed to supervise.

The Crossan family also sued Hyatt Corp., but Krueger would not disclose the outcome of that litigation other than to say that "issues pertaining to the hotel … were long ago disposed of."

In November 2004, the Hyatt was fined $50,000 for repeatedly serving drinks to the two men who were with Crossan before she died. The hotel was charged with not checking the identification of the men, then 19 and 20 years old, and both residents of Folsom, Calif.

A police detective described a "Mardi Gras atmosphere at the Hyatt with all the Hula Bowl cheerleaders present." The detective reported there were "several parties in the hotel and several minors in possession of alcoholic beverages in rooms and on the grounds."

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