UVA Dean Sues Rolling Stone, and Author Over Rape Hoax

Or as Ann Althouse might label it: Lawsuits I want to succeed

Making the liars pay for fake journalism:

A University of Virginia associate dean of students filed a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine Tuesday, alleging that it portrayed her as callous and indifferent to allegations of sexual assault on campus and made her the university’s “chief villain” in a now-debunked article about a fraternity gang rape.
Nicole Eramo is seeking more than $7.5 million in damages from Rolling Stone; its parent company, Wenner Media; and Sabrina Rubin Erdely, the investigative journalist who wrote the explosive account of sexual assault on the campus in Charlottesville. The magazine retracted the article after news organizations and the Columbia University journalism school found serious flaws in it.

The entire complaint is online. Via Memeorandum, with more blog commentary from Reason Magazine, Legal In·surrection, Ed Driscoll,Moe Lane, and The PJ Tatler.

But if I'm reading this blog post by Eugene Volokh accurately, this isn't a slam dunk, considering that the Dean will likely be considered a public person for purposes of this suit, and actual malice is difficult to prove, not to mention a confusing mix of fact and opinion.