http://stcharlesjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2007/12/03/news/sj2tn20071203-1203stc_meier.ii1.txt

Update from the source that originally broke this story. The prosecuting attorney will not bring charges. (original story, a must-read if you have interest in this case)

The family of the deceased girl has stated they do not intend to sue the perpetrators of the hoax.  That is somewhat surprising under the circumstances.

B

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/us/28hoax.html?em&ex=1196398800&en=b1408a7356b77eef&ei=5087%0A

You may’ve heard about this, but the details are beyond shocking.

If this deeply malicious behavior toward a minor by a 47 year-old is not in fact a crime, then it should be criminalized.

That an adult would plot such a cruel hoax against a 13-year-old girl has drawn outraged phone calls, e-mail messages and blog posts from around the world. Many people expressed anger because St. Charles County officials did not charge Ms. Drew with a crime.

But a St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman, Lt. Craig McGuire, said that what Ms. Drew did “might’ve been rude, it might’ve been immature, but it wasn’t illegal.”

…

St. Charles County’s prosecuting attorney, Jack Banas, said he was reviewing the case to determine whether anyone could be charged with a crime. 

Is there at least an actionable civil tort here? Wrongful death? The minor’s suicide complicates that. Intentional infliction of emotional distress? Surely.

I feel so bad for the mother and father. I feel almost equally bad for the daughter and husband of the woman who conducted the hoax. Their quality of life and emotional well-being will be forever changed for the worse by the consequences of this woman’s immature, inhuman cruelty. 

B

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/26/soldier.lawsuit/index.html

Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia sided with (opinion) the family of Army Lt. Col. Dominic “Rocky” Baragona in their wrongful death claim against Kuwait Gulf Link Transport Company, a contractor providing vehicles and logistics services to the US Army and coalition forces. A head-on highway collision resulted in Baragona’s death as he was traveling to Kuwait to depart for the US.

District Judge William Duffy held that his court had jurisdiction over the foreign contractor, and that Iraqi law would govern the case after a report was prepared by a former Iraqi judge and a Saudi law professor retained by Plaintiffs. This report was uncontested due to the defendant never having appeared, and a default judgment was entered.

CNN legal analyst Jeffery Toobin said the court decision theoretically “does open the door to more lawsuits” against contractors, but that the Baragona family is a long way from ever seeing the money.

“It is always very hard to collect judgments against foreign companies and, when you overlay the chaos of Iraq, it makes it extremely difficult — if not impossible,” Toobin said.

Many comments to the CNN story express dissatisfaction that access to the “justice” and/or “compensation” accorded the Baragona family is not available to most victims of the war, be they Iraqi civilians or US personnel. While the technical accuracy of this sentiment is debatable, it is an understandable reaction.

B

An AP article on CNN.com considers the question.

No point ($) in going after the original accuser. So you’re left with Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong (and presumably the State of North Carolina), and perhaps Duke University?

Nilfong is very deserving, but possibly immune. Several pundits sound off on this issue in the AP piece. Duke may’ve created some liability for itself through its sanctions against the students prior to … anything legitimate. Innocent ’til proven guilty anyone?

Slander, libel and various flavors of wrongful prosecution come to mind as causes of action… doubtless there are others.

Should the players sue? These guys will be dogged by and tagged with this allegation for the rest of their lives - or at least for the foreseeable future. Their lives will be more complicated, and more difficult because of it. If they can recover damages to soften the hardships they’ll endure over this nonsense, more power to them.

B