Collateral Estoppel Defeats Defamation Claim

A jury verdict that had awarded significant damages to a Clemson student who had been charged in a Title IX matter was reversed by the South Carolina Court of Appeals

In this defamation action, Appellant-Respondent Andrew Pampu seeks review of the circuit court's judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) on his civil conspiracy claim. Pampu argues there was sufficient evidence of the elements of civil conspiracy to support the jury's verdict for him. Respondents-Appellants challenge the circuit court's denial of their directed verdict and JNOV motions on Pampu's defamation claim. They argue that collateral estoppel precludes Pampu from establishing the falsity of their alleged defamatory statements because an administrative hearing board for Clemson University's Office of Community and Ethical Standards (OCES) found that Pampu had sex with Respondent-Appellant Erin Wingo when she was intoxicated and did not have the capacity to consent. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for the entry of a JNOV on Pampu's defamation claim.

Civil conspiracy

As to the civil conspiracy element "damages proximately resulting to the plaintiff," Pampu broke the chain of causation by failing to appeal the decision of Clemson's President upholding his suspension and settling his federal lawsuit against Clemson, precluding any possible reversal of the suspension. Moreover, the testimony of Pampu's expert witness that but for having to self-report his suspension on his dental school applications, Pampu would have not only been accepted into dental school but also completed dental school and completed the additional training required to specialize in orthodontics was pure speculation and does not qualify as even minimally probative evidence to support the jury's verdict.

Collateral estoppel based on the findings in the university proceeding

Pampu asserts that Clemson's findings should not be employed as a defense against his defamation claim because that claim is based on statements made by Respondents-Appellants "outside of the Title IX process." Yet, the defamation claim set forth in Pampu's complaint specifically referenced statements outside of the proceedings and within the Title IX process as being false and defamatory. More to the point, this is a distinction without a difference as the setting of the publication of the allegedly defamatory statements has no bearing on the defense of truth. See McBride, 389 S.C. at 559–60, 698 S.E.2d at 852 (requiring a defamation plaintiff to show, inter alia, the defendant's publication of a false and defamatory statement to a third party). If Pampu is collaterally estopped from asserting the falsity of statements that are consistent with Clemson's findings on consent, then Pampu does not get to attack those statements in any setting.

In sum, collateral estoppel precludes Pampu from relitigating the issue of Ms. Wingo's consent, and hence, the truth of the alleged defamatory statements of Respondents-Appellants defeats Pampu's defamation claim. See Kunst, 424 S.C. at 40, 817 S.E.2d at 303 ("The truth of the matter is a complete defense to an action based on defamation." (quoting Lingefelt, 316 S.C. at 445, 450 S.E.2d at 582). Therefore, the circuit court erred by denying Respondents-Appellants' JNOV motions.

Greenville News had reported the verdict

Defendants have filed a post-trial brief in a recent $5.3 million verdict in a defamation and civil conspiracy suit filed by a former Clemson University student who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2015.

Following a trial in late March, Andrew Pampu was awarded $5.3 million in damages against former Clemson students Erin Wingo, Colin Gahagan and Erin Wingo's father, David Wingo, according to a press release from Warshaw Burstein LLP, the law firm that handled Pampu's case.

The week-long trial included 10 witnesses disputing Erin Wingo's claim that she was too intoxicated to consent to sex, according to the news release.

Erin Wingo was ordered to pay $700,000 in actual damages and $450,000 in punitive damages, David Wingo ordered to pay $230,000 in actual damages and Gahagan to pay $700,000 in actual damages and $220,000 in punitive damages for defamation. For civil conspiracy, Erin Wingo was ordered to pay $2,000,000, while Gahagan was ordered to pay $1,000,000 in actual damages, according to Pampu's attorney, Kimberly C. Lau.

"The jury sent a message to others that our society does not condone spreading harmful lies about someone else to ruin someone’s reputation and deprive him of future opportunities," Lau said in a press release. "Not only does this kind of behavior cause irreparable damage to the wrongfully accused, it represents a setback for true rape victims to come forward and be believed in the future.”

...The accusations trace back to Pampu's birthday on the night of Oct. 24, 2015. According to court documents, Pampu and Erin Wingo were allegedly drinking and attended a party at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house where the two engaged in "mutual kissing" before leaving the party for a more secluded location.

According to court documents, Erin Wingo and Gahagan allegedly made false claims of sexual assault, resulting in Erin Wingo filing a formal complaint with the university saying that what took place at the private location was sexual assault.

After an administrative hearing, the university suspended Pampu until 2016 and evicted him from university housing. University Chief of Staff Max Allen repeatedly upheld the decision after Pampu's appeals, resulting in an additional year of suspension. 

On Jan. 26, 2017, Pampu filed a lawsuit against the university alleging that he was not given a fair hearing. On July 1, 2019, Pampu entered a $100,000 settlement agreement with the university for violations of the Title IX Education Amendment of 1972 and the 14th Amendment of the Due Process Clause, dismissing the lawsuit.

Pampu also filed a lawsuit on Jan. 26, 2017, against Erin Wingo, Gahagan and David Wingo, for defamation and civil conspiracy claiming that the interaction between Pampu and Erin Wingo was consensual.

(Mike Frisch)