#TheyLied (or #TheyWereNegligent) Libel Claim Based on Allegations of Rape of Third Party Student Can Proceed
From Boye v. McCarthy, decided yesterday by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, in an opinion by Judge Deborah Kunselman, joined by President Judge Jack Panella and Judge James Gardner Colins:
According to the complaint, Ms. McCarthy sent a false e-mail to an administrator at Mr. Boye’s college. She alleged that Mr. Boye raped a third party in his dorm room.
Boye sued for defamation, and the trial court rejected the claim on the grounds that the allegation was subject to a conditional privilege, which covers reports of alleged misconduct such as this. But the appellate court concluded that Boye had adequately alleged that the conditional privilege was defeated by McCarthy’s malice or even negligence:
[W]hen the plaintiff alleges an abuse of conditional privilege through malice, “the jury has to find that the defendant made the defamatory communication intentionally, with the knowledge that it was false, recklessly, without regard to whether it was true or false ….” Here, Mr. Boye alleged facts that, if true, would establish Ms. McCarthy acted with a reckless disregard for whether her e-mail was true or false. To begin with, Ms. McCa
Article from Reason.com
