University of Virginia dean awarded $3 million in Rolling Stone defamation case

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Jurors awarded a University of Virginia administrator $3 million Monday for her portrayal in a now-discredited Rolling Stone magazine article about the school's handling of a brutal gang rape a fraternity house.

The 10-member jury's decision came after they concluded Friday that the magazine, its publisher and reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely were responsible for defamation, with actual malice, of former associate dean of students Nicole Eramo in the 2014 story "A Rape on Campus."

Eramo sued the magazine for $7.5 million, claiming it cast her as a villain who sought to discourage the woman identified only as Jackie from reporting her alleged assault to police. A police investigation found no evidence to back up Jackie's rape claims.

Jurors heard testimony Monday about the extent to which the story has damaged Eramo's life and reputation before they began deliberating to decide how much to award her in damages.

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