Judge Dismisses Alum's Libel Suit Against University

Case questions first amendment rights concerning digital republication

On June 3, a federal judge in California dismissed a former student’s $1-million libel suit against the University. By dismissing the case, the court avoided ruling on some of the first amendment issues that the lawsuit had raised.

Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz granted Cornell’s special motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed last October by Kevin Vanginderen ’83, who alleged that a 1983 Cornell Chronicle article describing his involvement with a string of on-campus burglaries was libelous and constituted an illegal public disclosure of private facts.

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