STATEMENT FOR DISTRIBUTION: Wender v. Silberling defamation suit withdrawn

Dear Friends,
As many of you know, in November 2013 I was sued for $1.25 million by John Wender in civil court for defamation. The lawsuit is now withdrawn. As I said in my initial statement to the press, any allegations against me were bogus. I am still in shock that I was accused and sued. I quite simply did not do it. Someone else, unconnected to me, was responsible for the offending internet posts.

In July 2014 the judge dismissed most of the suit. Now, after going through some of the discovery process, the plaintiff has completely withdrawn the remainder of the suit, with prejudice (it cannot be brought again). I did not pay him any money as part of any settlement.

Now all I hope to do is move on with my life and put this behind me as best I can, although my reputation has been irreparably damaged in the media and on the internet. Unfortunately it is a characteristic of human nature for many to assume that if someone is accused in a lawsuit, that that someone must be guilty.

The entire experience has taken a huge toll on me personally, professionally, and financially. The media attention was huge and unwelcome. I was even invited to be on Dr. Phil, Inside Edition, and ABC News, which I of course declined. The allegations against me, complete with a brutally unfair portrayal by the media and spiteful comments by trolls, will live on in cyberspace. It does not sell newspapers to tell the story that I did not do it. The shock value exists in the public shaming, with its rush to facilely categorize and denigrate the middle-aged single woman and to reinforce misogynist and even racist stereotypes.

I am accepting legal defense fund donations to help defray the many tens of thousands of dollars it cost to defend myself. The nature of civil suits in this country is that you have no choice but to defend yourself, and you don’t get that money back if you are not guilty. If there are donations in excess of what I paid in legal fees, part will be donated to The Innocence Project, which works to help exonerate the falsely accused, and part to NY Lawsuit Reform, a group that seeks to reform laws so that frivolous lawsuits are harder to bring.

If you choose to donate, here is the link: http://silberlinglegaldefense.myevent.com/
Or you can mail a check to Louise Silberling, PO BOX 4882, Ithaca, NY 14852 USA
Thank you so much for your support.
–Louise Silberling

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Quite simply, I did not post the blogs for which I was sued. I denied wrongdoing, including anything to do with the blogs; there was no evidence and the judge threw out most of the case, and then the plaintiff withdrew the case. Six months after he sued me, plaintiff Wender was sued for $5 million in damages for rape, assault, and battery by another woman.

That plaintiff was later publicly revealed to be Sara Louise Petty, and their suit reached settlement in 2015. The Cornell Sun article mentions that suit, although at that time plaintiff Petty had anonymous status:    http://cornellsun.com/blog/2015/03/22/lawsuit-against-c-u-employee-withdrawn/

You can also see my public posts on Facebook.