A federal judge dismissed part of a defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine relating to a since-discredited story of a gang rape Oct. 31.
The dismissal does not end the civil lawsuit, which was filed by University of Virginia administrator Nicole Eramo, who claims the magazine’s story defamed her.
District Judge Glen Conrad noted that jurors didn’t think the story implied Eramo was a “false friend” to the alleged victim in the story and said Eramo provided no evidence of defamation by implication, according to Reuters.
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Eramo, who was UVA’s dean of students at the time Rolling Stone published “A Rape on Campus” in 2014, claimed in a $7.9 million lawsuit that the magazine damaged her health, reputation and career.
Campus Safety had previously reported on the debunked story, which portrayed a brutal gang rape at a fraternity house on UVA’s campus.
“We are pleased that the judge recognizes the limitations of Plaintiff’s lawsuit and we trust the jury will find that her remaining claims also have no merit,” Rolling Stone spokeswoman Kathryn Brenner said in a statement.
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