Even though the letter was signed by 50 parents, Thomas H. Roberts, one of Lewis’ attorneys, said just four defendants were named in the suit because his office was still assessing the role of others who had attached their names to the letter. Because claims for defamation in Virginia may be filed up until one year after publication, Roberts said there was still time to decide how to deal with other signers.

The defendants’ letter, which accompanied an article about parents’ demands for an overhaul of Brown’s advanced academic program, addressed 37 specific areas of concern.

The suit said there were “false factual statements” in the letter, “including but not limited to” the lone two examples cited in court papers.

The first example involved the letter’s contention that Lewis oversaw an “unsafe environment” at Brown in her response to the discovery of a gun at the school in February 2012.

The suit said the letter falsely claimed that after a teacher reported a student had a gun, “it took 30 minutes for the principal to find out who made the report. In the meantime, there was no school lock-down, despite statements to the contrary reported to the media. Parents were lied to about the presence of ammunition found with the weapon.”