Rolling Stone Lawsuit: Former UVA Administrator Awarded $3 Million

CHARLOTTSEVILLE, VA — Former University of Virginia dean Nicole Eramo will receive $3 million in damages for her depiction in the now-discredited November 2014 Rolling Stone article "A Rape on Campus," multiple news outlets reported. Eramo was awarded the sum three days after a 10-member jury in a federal court in Charlottesville concluded all three defendants are liable for defamation against her.

CNBC reported that the jury determined the author of the article — Sabria Rubin Erdely — will pay Eramo $2 million in damages and Rolling Stone will pay $1 million. Rolling Stone will cover the cost of Erdely's damages and her legal fees, CNN said.

Erdely, Rolling Stone and its publisher Wenner Media were found to have committed actual malice — meaning they published the article when they knew it contained false information.

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Eramo sued Rolling Stone for at least $7.5 million in compensatory damages, and $350,000 in punitive damages, CNBC reported. Her team said the article harmed Eramo's reputation, emotional state and professional credibility.

The article portrayed Eramo as someone who discouraged students from reporting sexual assaults, which led to calls for Eramo's resignation.

According to the Associated Press, Eramo said she couldn't sleep and feared for her life after the article was published. She said she didn't know how to explain what happened to her then-7-year-old son, and she even contemplated suicide at one point. Eramo's husband testified and told jurors that Eramo told him that she didn't know if she could live anymore.

Eramo's team highlighted the widespread circulation and notoriety of the article, which caused a national uproar when it was published. Her team said about 14.7 million people read "A Rape on Campus," from when it was originally published on Nov. 19, 2014, to when it was fully retracted in April 2015, CNN said.

Rolling Stone's team claims this estimate is exaggerated because it's based off numbers meant for advertisers, according to CNN.

Phi Kappa Psi also sued Rolling Stone for $25 million, and the trial will begin next year.

Image from Rolling Stone’s November 2014 article, “A Rape on Campus.”