Libel law and the Rolling Stone / UVA alleged gang rape story

Washington Post ^ | By Eugene Volokh December 6 at 6:10 AM

[catfish1957]

Maybe it is the Stone for whom the bell tolls

The only stone the bells will toll for will be a tombstone.

UVA is a $2.8B annual enterprise that has been seriously libeled by this monumental goof.

After their lawyers get through with them, RS will cease to exist.

[catfish1957]

Liability is a very strong motivator. So both the RS and the reporter need to be sued.

RS has been a mouthpiece for the ultra-left for many years disguised as MSM. Time to thrust the dagger deep into its heart.

[sodpoodle]

It’s possible the woman was raped somewhere, by someone and has her facts distorted because of drugs or booze.

The ‘reporter’ should have delved into her background more thoroughly and done due diligence.

Cannot see how she could ‘interview’ the suspects - how would that have been accomplished?

[ladyjane]

I think you will find Eugene Volokh and his blog The Volokh Concpiracy is held in high regard by the legal community and many conservatives.

I followed the Duke false rape case at Volokh Conspiracy and at KC Johnson’s Durham in Wonderland site. Both of those blogs were instrumental in disseminating accurate information about the false rape claim. Volokh has also been supportive of free speech and pro-life events on college campuses from a legal perspective.

The guy is very very smart. He graduated from UCLA at 14 or 15 with a degree in math. His blog is probably the most influential legal blog and the most read.

[MUDDOG]

He’s still wrong though about lowering the threshold on campus sexual assault.

[IronJack]

Short answer? No.

The rapist was not definitively identified, which means that there was no material damage done to any individual, so who would have standing to sue? Secondly, the charge of rape was made and the "newspaper" reported it. If they used the right "weasel words" ("alleged", "suspect", etc.), they are within their rights to publish the assertion, without rendering any judgment as to guilt or innocence.

[KC_Conspirator]

There is a case for libel. The accused Duke lacrosse players reportedly got tens of millions of dollars in settlements in order to stay out of court. Undisclosed amounts were paid out to the lacrosse team members who were NOT specifically charged.

I am willing to bet that if the fraternity took RS to court, they would be making an out of court settlement.

[RayChuang88]

Does Rolling Stone magazine have the means to do an out-of-court settlement that could be many millions of dollars?

I do think the fraternity will sue Rolling Stone and that suit could effectively shutter the magazine.

[catfish1957]

Looked it up, and Rolling Stone is one rag in a large stable of periodicals (about a 100, but I didn't count) from the Australian Company called ACP Magazines.

Big names on the roster, so it looks like they've got deep pockets. I'd guess the Frat and UVA ought to be getting probably 8 figure settlements.

What ACP does with RS afterwards ought to be pretty entertaining.

[SunkenCiv]

A better response, IMHO, is to first sue for libel; win or get a huge settlement; then use the money to quietly and systematically kill its author, the editors, and especially the publisher and his entire family. Spend the remaining money on a nice night out. Problem solved.

[Stingray51]

First, anyone can start a lawsuit and sometimes doing so makes a point even if it eventually gets dismissed. So it may be worth a try.

Second, I would like to see the University get sued. As we saw with Duke, the university administrators are quick to throw their own students, at least the white male ones, under the bus without any investigation at all. That is just wrong; given that many, perhaps most, frat members are still teenagers, I think they are victims of bullying. I president Sullivan is a bully and needs to be held legally accountable.

[Hot Tabasco]

The key here is money. If UVA can afford it,

Suing both RS and UVA will require the disclosure of the wench who made the false claim in print.

She's the one who has to worry about subsequent libel suits and how to pay for them, not UVA or RS........they have their own stable of lawyers.

[Hot Tabasco]

The key here is money. If UVA can afford it,

Suing both RS and UVA will require the disclosure of the wench who made the false claim in print.

She's the one who has to worry about subsequent libel suits and how to pay for them, not UVA or RS........they have their own stable of lawyers.......

This time she will truly be screwed........

[KC_Conspirator]

We will see, but that rag needs to be shuttered, much like 60 Minutes II.

[Plummz]

One element that Volokh left out which would make a libel case stronger — some of the “reporter” Erdley’s comments since the publication. She actually admitted to shopping around for a good rape story to sensationalize, and settling on UVa as a target because she didn’t like the University’s realtive lack of radical left-feminist politics or their Southern culture. That indicates some malice aforethought.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It libels the university to print a false story about students having misbehaved there?

If forcing students to behave was in the university’s claims, it could be seen, but this is like a claim to have defamed Walmart because someone printed a false story of a Walmart store having experienced shoplifting.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Under what moral law?

[HiTech RedNeck]

She should have just shut up while she was ahead.

[Balding_Eagle]

It’s not worth arguing about for sure, and we both have others who read it the same way each of us did. Opposite opinions.

:>)

[TexasCajun]

I hope they sue Lena Dunham for all she's got.

Oh wait. ...different lying rape claim.

Nevermind