Rolling Stone wins dismissal of defamation lawsuit over rape article

Article here. Excerpt:

'A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by three former University of Virginia fraternity members who accused Rolling Stone magazine, its publisher Wenner Media and a journalist of defamation over a since retracted article describing a gang rape.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan said details about the attackers in the November 2014 article by Sabrina Rubin Erdely were "too vague and remote" to make readers, family and friends believe that the plaintiffs George Elias IV, Ross Fowler and Stephen Hadford had a role in the alleged rape.

"In the plaintiffs' own words, any 'apparent connection between the plaintiffs and the allegations is an (unfortunate) coincidence,'" Castel wrote.'