3 members of Phi Kappa Psi have filed a lawsuit against Rolling Stone and others for defamation arising out of the infamous "A Rape on Campus" story. The fraternity itself has not yet pursued legal action, but they are leaving the door open.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/29/media/rolling-stone-uva-frat-lawsuit/index.html
As a lawyer, I applaud this action. I believe that lawsuits, though ubiquitous (and often abused) in modern America, are one of the best ways to hold people (and institutions) accountable. The individuals identified in the article will ALWAYS have an unfair stigma attached to their names.
As a human being, I just really wished this whole thing had never happened. If RS had done BASIC due diligence and not pursued, IMHO, gotcha headlines, at all costs everyone would have better off, including the much maligned "Jackie." I am certainly not saying "nothing" happened to "Jackie," nor am I saying that "real" journalists shouldn't pursue stories in this vein, and I suppose SOME good came out of it in exposing the (again, IMO) irresponsible way that UVA treated campus rape cases (though no one was held accountable for federal law violations).
Rape is probably the most serious offense a person can commit where no one dies. The "Jackie" story, as reported, had the unintended (though predictable, in hindsight) effect of pushing real progress on this issue back considerably. Its my sincere hope that victims of campus rape won't be intimidated from pursuing charges against the offenders, that college students (of both genders) will follow better judgment, and that RS is sued out of business (an unlikely possibility). I'm also sincerely glad that UVA has begun to clean up the way they treat campus rape so that, at a minimum, they are in full compliance with federal law.
Now back to UVA basketball...
