The Daily Press prints a story quoting a public university administrator-the dean of sciences-saying that nearly all students in the university's School of Journalism and Mass Communication are binge drinkers and come to class drunk.There are 400 SJMC students.Mary Smith,a senior in SJMC,knows that is not true about her and she wants to sue for libel.Smith
A)could successfully sue for libel
B)could not successfully sue for libel because The Daily Press has an absolute privilege to quote the university administrator
C)could not successfully sue for libel because the statement contains nothing a jury could find defamatory
D)could not successfully sue for libel because she could not prove identification

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The statement made by the dean is about a large group (400 students), making it difficult for Mary Smith to prove that the statement specifically identified her, which is a necessary element in a libel case.

The Daily Press Prints a Story Quoting a Public University