Plaintiff's voluntary dismissal closes cyberbullying lawsuit

HOUSTON - The plaintiff in a lawsuit targeting an anonymous blogger at her school ended the litigation last month.

Houston resident Tara Wilson entered a voluntary dismissal into her suit against the author of "Tulane Watch" on April 24.

Wilson originally filed suit in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas in late February, alleging the unknown individual wrote “demeaning and insulting” things about her on the subject blog as well as verbally attacked her on Twitter.

The suit argued that Tulane Watch exists to “intentionally hurl extreme and outrageous insults at other Tulane students for the sole purpose of causing them severe emotional distress,” and asserted the author is also a student but does not reside in Texas.

Wilson, a history major who is also a cheerleader and serves on the Tulane Journal of International Affairs, stated the blog targets the university’s student leaders, including her fellow cheerleaders, a track team member and the student body president.

According to the plaintiff, the blogger set his sights on her on Feb. 18 by posting a blog entry blasting her Facebook usage and mocking the pronunciation of her first name.

She additionally claimed the defendant “decided to take things one step further” as they went after her teenage sister on Twitter.

The Tulane Hullabaloo reported in March that the blog was taken down following the suit's filing.

Wilson's voluntary dismissal says the respondent "has not answered" the allegations.

Case No. 13-CV-521