Florida attorney Dineen Pashoukos Wasylik is a former student journalist who served as a journalism intern at the Student Press Law Center while in college. Her law firm, DPW Legal, focuses on intellectual property and appeals. She is one of the many attorneys who volunteers with SPLC’s Attorney Referral Network. Read on to learn how she recently helped a student news organization sued for libel (a story she is sharing with permission).
The student editor and faculty adviser at Florida Atlantic University were shocked when a process server showed up at the student offices in late 2023. Almost two years earlier, the University Press had published a story about a professor. Now, that professor had filed a lawsuit alleging the story defamed him. Learn from how the University Press handled it so you are prepared if a process server ever comes knocking on your door.
Don’t Accept Service Unless You Are Listed as a Defendant by Name
Student news outlets are generally either run by a separate corporation or are unincorporated associations. Either way, under the very strict laws that govern who has authority to speak for an organization, even the lead editor likely does not have authority to accept service of process on behalf of the news entity. Do what the FAU folks did — tell the process server that you are not authorized to accept service and send them to your school’s general counsel’s office (for colleges) or principal (for high schools). Be sure to let that office know what happened right away.
Get Help
After sending the process server to FAU’s general counsel, the adviser reached out to the SPLC Legal Hotline. SPLC has a network of volunteer attorneys and can likely connect you with an attorney in your state to assess the claims, and guide you to appropriate resources. As an SPLC volunteer attorney in FAU’s state, I was able to answer the University Press’ questions about the lawsuit and help the adviser and editors understand what was going on and how each of them would be affected by the suit (spoiler: They weren’t!).
Avoid Default
Even if the suit is unfounded, don’t ignore it. Courts set a short amount of time to respond to a lawsuit once it is served — generally between 20 and 30 days. If you have accepted service, the documentation should say on it how long the response time is, but don’t wait. Be sure to seek help right away because it can take time to find the right help in time to appropriately respond. When a defendant fails to respond to a lawsuit in time, a court can enter what is called “default,” which means the court considers everything said in the complaint is true and the only thing left is to figure out damages. It is very important to avoid default because very often, the allegations are not true. And if you haven’t accepted service, still seek help right away — the more time you have to sort out the issues, the better.
Is It Really Libel?
If you’ve followed good journalism practices, then what you published likely isn’t libel at all. Different states word the test differently, but generally, “libel” means you (1) published a (2) false statement of fact that (3) harms someone’s reputation (4) causing them damage. And if the person claiming to be defamed is a public figure, that person has the added burden of proving that you acted with “actual malice,” which means you either knew the statement was false, or were reckless in disregarding the truth. But anyone can sue for anything, even if they would not ultimately win, and libel suits are often used to try to silence journalists.
There are many tools to defend against unfounded claims. Some go to the substance of the claim, including so-called anti-SLAPP laws. Others can get an early win using litigation procedure, like challenging whether the lawsuit was properly served, or has the right defendants, or was filed in time. Preserve any notes or records that back up the accused publication and get help from lawyers who know how to use these tools.
Happy Ending
By keeping their wits about them, the University Press students and adviser bought enough time to get help. And that set in motion a series of events that resolved the suit within a few months — and without any of the students having to hire a lawyer or appear in court. A lawsuit won’t always be resolved that quickly or easily. But when you’ve published stories with integrity, there’s no need to panic when someone tries to silence you with a lawsuit.