Trosch v. Layshock [1]

In December 2005, Justin Layshock and three other high school students created fake MySpace profiles for their principal, Eric Trosch. The profiles included an official school portrait of Trosch and answers to the website's template questions for creating a profile. Many of the answers were derogatory and sexually explicit. One profile indicated that Trosch's favorite movie was a pornographic film. Another indicated that Trosch "liked to have sex with students and brutalize women." A third said that he "kept a keg of beer at his desk at school, was on steroids, and smoked marijuana."

After the school district disciplined Layshock, he brought a federal lawsuit claiming that the school's punishment violated his First Amendment rights. (Please see the CMLP database entry [2] on the school's disciplinary action for more information).

At some point, the identies of the other three students came to light, and Trosch filed a defamation suit in Pennsylvania state court in April 2007.

Update:

12/01/2007 - Judge Christopher J. St. John denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the state case, but held that the statements were not made with actual malice and that the principal could not recover punitive damages.

11/2008 - Trosch dropped his claims against three of the defendants, leaving only Layshock in the case.