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Former University of Virginia Fraternity Members Sue Rolling Stone

Three former members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at the University of Virginia filed a lawsuit against Rolling Stone on Wednesday for defamation and infliction of emotional distress, saying the magazine’s discredited article on a campus gang rape had a “devastating effect” on their reputations.

The article, written by Sabrina Rubin Erdely and published last fall, set off a national discussion with its vivid account of a student’s assault, but it was retracted in April after it fell apart under scrutiny by journalists and law enforcement officials. A report by the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism uncovered an assortment of journalistic lapses, including a lack of skepticism and a failure to interview those accused of the assault.

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The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.Credit...Steve Helber/Associated Press

The lawsuit also names Ms. Erdely and Rolling Stone’s publisher, Wenner Media, as defendants.

Friends, family members and acquaintances were able to identify George Elias IV as one of the accused attackers based on details in the article, including the location of a bedroom that was described as the setting of the assault, the lawsuit said. They “interrogated him, humiliated him, and scolded him,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in United States District Court in New York.

The two other plaintiffs, Stephen Hadford and Ross Fowler, faced embarrassment and distress that “emotionally wrecked” them, the lawsuit said. All three have graduated from Virginia.

“Plaintiffs have each suffered emotional turmoil, were entirely unable to focus at work and in school following the release of the article, and are still being questioned often about the article’s accusations,” the lawsuit said.

In May, Nicole P. Eramo, an associate dean of students, filed a defamation suit against Rolling Stone, saying the article portrayed her as discouraging the reporting of sexual assault to protect the university’s reputation. She is seeking nearly $8 million in damages.

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