Anonymous libel

[Arkady380]

Jurisdiction

New Jersey

I was falsely accused by an anonymous student of plagiarizing my exams. The accusation was immediately used by the administration of the college by trying to discredit me as an instructor. I want to discover the identity of the student and to sue him/her for libel. What are possible legal steps in my situation?

 

[zddoodah]

No way to answer unless you provide some context regarding the accusation. For example, how was the accusation made? Did someone scrawl something on a piece of paper and slip it under someone's office door?

 

[Arkady380]

No way to answer unless you provide some context regarding the accusation. For example, how was the accusation made? Did someone scrawl something on a piece of paper and slip it under someone's office door?

I was notified by the dean in writing that a student from my class made the complaint and that the dean is investigating.

 

[mightymoose]

You haven't said anything yet that suggests this is libelous. A written complaint to the school over which something the student believes to be true, even if later proven false, is not libel. In fact, it sounds exactly like the proper procedure for making and investigating a complaint.
Unless you can prove it was knowingly false with intent to harm you and you can prove actual damages then it is not with worth considering legal action. Utilize whatever resources your employer has for resolving conflicts internally.

 

[zddoodah]

I was notified by the dean in writing that a student from my class made the complaint and that the dean is investigating.

That doesn't answer my question, unless you're implying that you don't know the answer. In any event, your statement that "the dean is investigating" implies that the investigation is ongoing. Until it's concluded, any consideration of legal action would be premature.

From a non-legal standpoint, do you really think suing a student would be at all productive?

Also, in your original post, you wrote that, as a result of this allegation, "the administration of the college [tried] to discredit [you] as an instructor," but now you're saying that "the dean is investigating." Investigating an allegation and "trying to discredit" you are not at all the same thing.

A written complaint to the school over which something the student believes to be true, even if later proven false, is not libel. . . . Unless you can prove it was knowingly false with intent to harm you and you can prove actual damages then it is not with worth considering legal action.

Except for the part about needing to prove actual damages, that's not necessarily correct. Whether or not the student subjectively believes the statement to be true, if he/she is negligent as to the truth or falsity of the statement, he/she could be held liable. It is not necessary to prove that the defendant knew of the statement's falsity and had "intent to harm." See DeAngelis v. Hill, 847 A.2d 1261, 1267-68 (N.J. 2004).

 

[mightymoose]

A public comment or published text is one thing, but I don't see a student complaint to the dean about perceived misconduct ever rising to the level of slander/libel. It is the appropriate tool for students to use- unless it can be shown the complaint was made with malice and knowingly false.
Nobody would ever make complaints if they had to be factually correct before making them.

 

[army judge]

I was notified by the dean in writing that a student from my class made the complaint and that the dean is investigating.

Just for informational purposes, an affirmative defense to a libel or slander lawsuit is truth.

If the RAT was truthful when IT "ate cheese on you", that won't be overcome in a lawsuit initiated by you.