15 Civ. 05953

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In an opinion this week by Judge Forrest (sitting by designation), the Second Circuit reversed in part Judge Castel’s dismissal (covered here) of claims brought by a University of Virginia fraternity against Rolling Stone magazine over a widely discredit article telling the story of a source named “Jackie” being gang raped at a fraternity party.

The Second Circuit found that the complaint made out a plausible claim of “small group defamation” :
Continue Reading Second Circuit Revives “Small Group Defamation” Claim By Fraternity Against Rolling Stone

In an opinion Tuesday, Judge Castel dismissed a case brought by three fraternity members against Rolling Stone magazine and one of its writers, Sabrina Erdely, who authored a discredited account of a woman referred to as “Jackie” claiming to have been gang raped at a fraternity at the University of Virginia.

Judge Castel found that the article was not specific enough to defame the plaintiffs.   For example, the article quotes Jackie as saying that the attackers encouraged one another with statements like “Don’t you want to be a brother?” and “We all had to do it, so you do, too” – language that Judge Castel found couldn’t plausibly suggest that every fraternity member was a rapist:
Continue Reading Judge Castel Rules Rolling Stone Article on UVA Rape Did Not Defame Fraternity Members