North Carolina Court Allows Duke Lacrosse Coach’s Slander Suit

A North Carolina appeals court has ruled that Duke University’s former lacrosse coach can pursue a slander lawsuit against the school and its former spokesman.

Duke’s attorney has argued that the coach fired during a lacrosse scandal should be required to settle his claims through arbitration. Pressler’s lawyers say arbitration could limit what the coach can get in damages.

The Court of Appeals decided that Mike Pressler isn’t required to arbitrate his slander and libel claims.

Pressler had settled with the school after he was fired following a stripper’s false accusations in 2006 that she was raped at a team party. But the coach’s lawsuit says Duke violated the settlement when a former spokesman made disparaging comments about Pressler to the media.

Pressler currently coaches at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I.