Rolling Stone settles with Phi Kappa Psi

Rolling Stone magazine’s $1.65 million settlement with the UVA chapter of Phi Kappa Psi in June all but ends litigation surrounding the sensational and since-retracted December 2014 story, “A Rape on Campus.”

“It has been nearly three years since we and the entire University of Virginia community were shocked by the now infamous article, and we are pleased to be able to close the book on that trying ordeal and its aftermath,” a representative of the fraternity wrote in a press release.

Phi Kappa Psi, which had originally sued for $25 million over the story’s discredited account of a gang rape, said it plans to donate a portion of the settlement to groups that provide sexual assault awareness education, prevention training and victim counseling services on college campuses.

Former Associate Dean of Students Nicole Eramo (Col ’87, Educ ’03) reached a confidential settlement with Rolling Stone in April after the magazine appealed the $3 million verdict she won in November.

A third defamation lawsuit, which three fraternity members filed in federal court in New York, was tossed out in June 2016, though an appeal is pending.