Wagner v. Miskin [1]

In the fall of 1998, Miskin enrolled in a University of North Dakota (UND) physics class taught by Professor John Wagner. Wagner claims that Miskin sent him harassing and sexually explicit email messages and made false statements about him professionally and personally. After UND disciplinary proceedings against Miskin, Wagner filed suit in North Dakota state court accusing Miskin of libel, slander, and intentional interference with a business relationship.

After litigation commenced, Miskin published additional statements about Wagner, his trial attorney, and the litigation on her website (www.undnews.com). These statements included an allegation that Wagner had harassed Miskin with sexually provocative phone calls. Wagner amended his complaint to include claims based on these statements on the Internet. Wagner won a $3,000,000 jury verdict, and the Supreme Court of North Dakota upheld the verdict. Wagner v. Miskin [2], 660 N.W.2d 593 (N.D. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1154 (2004).