'Rolling Stone' Settles Defamation Case With Former U.Va. Associate Dean

Enlarge this image toggle caption Steve Helber/Associated Press Steve Helber/Associated Press

Lawyers for Rolling Stone and Nicole Eramo, a former University of Virginia associate dean, have reached a confidential settlement over a 2014 story in the magazine about an alleged gang rape on campus.

In the defamation case, Eramo alleged the article portrayed her as indifferent to victims of sexual assault.

In November, a jury awarded her $3 million after finding Rolling Stone and reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely defamed her.

The magazine was to pay $1 million and Erdely $2 million.

Rolling Stone filed a motion to vacate that judgment, but then agreed to settle the case before a judge could rule.

The Washington Post reports:

"The settlement brings an end to a lawsuit that had roiled the U-Va. community with a case study in the practice and ethics of journalism. "We are delighted that this dispute is now behind us, as it allows Nicole to move on and focus on doing what she does best, which is supporting victims of sexual assault," said Libby Locke, a lawyer for Eramo, in a statement Tuesday. "Rolling Stone called the settlement an "amicable resolution."

The magazine's article, "A Rape on Campus" recounted the story of a young woman's gang rape at a U-Va. fraternity house.

The story was discredited after serious flaws were revealed.

An investigation by The Post showed that aspects of the account were not true.

Following a police investigation and a probe by Columbia University School of Journalism, Rolling Stone retracted the article.