Goldman v. Reddington

• Decision Date: 27 September 2019
• Docket Number: 18-CV-3662 (RRM) (ARL)
• Citation: 417 F.Supp.3d 163
• Parties: Alex GOLDMAN, Plaintiff, v. Catherine REDDINGTON, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

417 F.Supp.3d 163

Alex GOLDMAN, Plaintiff,

v.Catherine REDDINGTON, Defendant.

18-CV-3662 (RRM) (ARL)

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Signed September 27, 2019

Derrelle Marcel Janey, Gottlieb & Janey LLP, Seth Jason Zuckerman, Sarah Leddy, ChaudhryLaw PLLC, Priya Chaudhry, New York, NY, for Plaintiff.

Matthew Kennison, Pro Hac Vice, Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP, Ann Arbor, MI, Sandra Lynn Musumeci, Eliberty Lopez, Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

ROSLYNN R. MAUSKOPF, United States District Judge.

Plaintiff Alex Goldman filed this action, pursuant to this Court’s diversity jurisdiction, alleging defamation and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and business relations by defendant Catherine Reddington. The complaint focuses on statements Reddington made via text messages and social media, claiming, inter alia , that Goldman raped her when they were university students. (Compl. (Doc. No. 1).) Goldman seeks damages and injunctive relief enjoining Reddington from propagating the alleged falsities. Before the Court is Reddington’s motion to dismiss, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 12(b)(6). (Def.'s Mot. (Doc. No. 34).) For the reasons explained below, Reddington’s motion is denied in part, and granted in part.

BACKGROUND¹

In 2017, Reddington and Goldman were both students at Syracuse University ("Syracuse"). (Compl. at ¶ 5.) Goldman was a civil engineering student, on track to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in 2018 and a master’s in Business Administration ("MBA") in 2019. (Id. at ¶ 23.)

Both Goldman and Reddington participated in Greek life on campus. (Id. at ¶¶ 24, 28.) On April 22, 2017, Goldman’s fraternity and Reddington’s sorority hosted a joint party at the Delta Kappa Epsilon ("DKE") fraternity house, where Goldman resided. (Id. at ¶¶ 24, 28.) After the party, Reddington spent the night in Goldman’s room. Goldman alleges that surveillance footage shows him walking to his room at approximately 12:30 a.m., with Reddington following a few feet behind. (Id. at ¶ 29.) When Goldman and Reddington awoke on April 23, 2017, it is undisputed that they were fully clothed, and that neither could remember what transpired after midnight. (Id. at ¶ 30.)

The next day, on April 24, 2017, Reddington visited Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, New York, complaining of a possible sexual assault. (Id. at ¶ 6.) She believed that she may have been drugged given her lack of memory. (Id. ) A Sexual Assault Nurse Examination ("SANE") was conducted, which showed no intoxicants present in her bloodstream other than caffeine and marijuana. (Id. at ¶¶ 6, 33.) She submitted items of clothing – specifically underwear, which had no visible blood, and a white leotard, which had a "blood stain in [the] crotch area." (OCDA Rpt., Ex. A to Compl. (Doc. No. 1-2) at ¶ 4.) The examination found two "tears" to Reddington’s labia, but "there were no internal cuts or abrasions to vaginal walls and she had smooth hymen edges." (Id. at ¶ 1.) A DNA analysis indicated that her vagina was negative for male DNA. (Id. at ¶ 2.)

In May 2017, Reddington reported the alleged sexual assault to the Syracuse Police Department ("SPD"). (Compl. at ¶ 3.) Following an investigation, Detective Michael Bates of the SPD closed the case, given the absence of any physical evidence and Reddington’s statements in interviews that she had no recollection of the night in question after 12:30 a.m. (Id. at ¶¶ 31, 34.) Bates forwarded his report to the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office ("OCDA"), which conducted its own investigation, memorialized in a report by Assistant District Attorney Maureen Barry. (Id. at ¶¶ 34, 35.) Based on Barry’s review of the evidence and the OCDA’s own independent investigation, Barry concluded that there was "no corroborating evidence" and "no physical evidence from the SANE" to support allegations of sexual assault. (OCDA Rpt. at ¶ 1.) The report also noted, "Ms. Reddington has stated repeatedly that she has no direct knowledge of any sexual acts that she may have engaged in," (id. at ¶ 7), and that her "lack of memory and the lack of any witnesses ... make it impossible to prove," (id. at 5). The report recognized that sexual assaults are "inherently difficult" to prove, but ultimately concluded: "There is no credible proof of any sexual conduct in this case, consensual or non-consensual." (Id. at 4–5.)

In approximately June 2017, Reddington filed a complaint with Syracuse, and the school’s Title IX Investigator Bernerd Jacobson conducted an investigation. (Compl. at ¶¶ 10, 36.) While Reddington initially told Jacobson that she could not recall the night in question, weeks later she reported experiencing "sudden flashes of memories following a visit to a therapist." (Id. at ¶ 36.) Reddington told Jacobson that she had sexual intercourse with Goldman and was sodomized by him without her consent. (Id. ) Jacobson concluded that Goldman had violated the Student Code of Conduct, and he was expelled in November 2017. (Id. at ¶ 37.) Reddington celebrated by visiting the DKE house the day after Goldman was expelled, "bragging" that "her ‘rapist’ was expelled." (Id. at ¶ 12.) Goldman notes that he was seven credits shy of graduation at the time. (Id. at ¶ 25.)

Following his expulsion, Goldman moved to New Jersey, enrolled in a new school (the New Jersey Institute of Technology ("NJIT")), and obtained an internship for the summer of 2018 with Bohler Engineering ("Bohler"). (Id. at ¶ 26.)

I. The Alleged Defamation Campaign and Tortious Interference

Goldman alleges that Reddington embarked on a campaign of defamation in a "systematic process of publicly and falsely" branding him a rapist. (Compl. at ¶¶ 13, 41.) She texted two of Goldman’s friends, calling him a "monster" and "a violent rapist." (Id. at ¶¶ 12, 56; 11/17/2017 Text, Ex. B to Compl. (Doc. No. 1-2) at 8.) Goldman attaches to the complaint several social media posts made by Reddington. The complaint identifies six specific statements as defamatory:

1. November 17, 2017, text message to one of Goldman’s friends, referring to Goldman as a "violent rapist." (Id. at ¶¶ 38, 56; 11/17/2017 Text at 8.)

2. May 2018 text message to another one of Goldman’s friends, repeatedly referring to him as a "monster." (Compl. at ¶¶ 39, 56.)

3. June 4, 2018, Facebook post, referring to Goldman as a "rapist" and stating that this was not the first time he "has raped someone and I want to make sure that it is the last." Reddington included a picture of Goldman, marked the location as NJIT, and tagged NJIT and Bohler. (Id. at ¶¶ 41, 42, 56; 6/4/2018 Facebook Post, Ex. C to Compl. (Doc. No. 1-2) at 10–12.)²

4. June 4, 2018, LinkedIn post, referring to Goldman as a "rapist," which tags NJIT and Bohler. (Compl. at ¶¶ 44, 56; 6/4/2018 LinkedIn Post, Ex. D to Compl. (Doc. No. 1-2) at 14–19.)

5. June 5, 2018, Facebook post, which includes a screenshot of a direct Facebook message to Bohler. Only a portion of the message to Bohler is displayed, but the post shows Bohler’s response, which states that Bohler "elected to immediately terminate the employment relationship" with Goldman upon learning of the "allegations." (Compl. at ¶ 46.) Reddington posts that she is "feeling happy" that Goldman lost his position, and calls him a "monster" and "a disgusting excuse for a man." (Id. at ¶¶ 45, 46, 56; 6/5/2018 Facebook Post, Ex. E to Compl. (Doc. No. 1-2) at 21.)

6. June 6, 2018, Facebook review of NJIT, stating: "A school that accepts recently expelled rapists, despite it being marked on their transcript...." (Compl. at ¶¶ 49, 56; 6/6/2018 NJIT Facebook Review, Ex. F to Compl. (Doc. No. 1-2) at 23.)

The Facebook and LinkedIn posts were viewed and "liked" by thousands of people, and the posts have also been shared. (Compl. at ¶¶ 2, 15.) Individuals commented on Reddington’s posts, expressing their disdain for Goldman. One user wrote, "[h]opefully they'll catch this animal. I will share this post[ ] in hopes that someone out there who knows him sees it...." (Id. at ¶ 43.) Another individual commented, "This person needs to be off the streets" and "he will get his, it’s only the beginning!!!!" (Id. at ¶ 48.)

Goldman maintains that Reddington’s accusations are "utterly unfounded" and that there is "unequivocally no evidence of sexual assault or rape." (Id. at ¶ 16.) Goldman alleges that Reddington’s charges of rape were "false when made" and that she "knew they were false." (Id. at ¶¶ 10, 15, 16.) He alleges that Reddington made these "knowingly false statements," (id. at ¶¶ 3, 4, 8), in order to "devastate [his] educational and career prospects; destroy his personal relationships ...; destroy his academic relationship with institutions of higher education; destroy his employment opportunities; publicly tarnish his reputation; and wreak havoc on his personal life and that of his family," (id. at ¶ 1). He states that Reddington’s objective was to "wag[e] a campaign to have" him expelled from NJIT and fired from his summer internship. (Id. at ¶ 13.) Goldman was in fact terminated by Bohler. Accordingly, he seeks damages and injunctive relief to remedy the harm caused by Reddington’s "campaign of aggressive public harassment." (Id. at ¶¶ 1, 4, 17.)

Reddington now moves to dismiss the complaint on the ground that Goldman fails to state a claim for relief. She argues that the defamation claim must be dismissed because: (1) Goldman fails to meet his burden of alleging that the statements were false; (2) he does not plead facts showing that she made the statements with gross irresponsibility; and (3) certain statements are not actionable because they are either matters of opinion, or do not sufficiently identify Goldman. Reddington also claims that she did not Facebook message Bohler, and therefore cannot be held responsible for that message; she claims that she merely reposted an exchange between Bohler and another individual. Reddington further...