Larimore v. Blaylock

In this appeal, we consider whether defamatory communications between persons involved in a university’s tenure review process are entitled to the defense of qualified privilege or absolute immunity under a doctrine of “intracorporate immunity.”

L. Keith Larimore, a Professor of Marketing in the College of Business and Economics at Radford University, filed a motion for judgment alleging that during the course of his tenure review proceeding the defendants falsely accused him of unethical publishing practices. The defendants were two members of his Department Review Committee, Hsin-Min Tong…