Syllabus:
Litigating Reputation in America
1-5 June
2026, University of Le Havre
Instructor:
Rick
J. Peltz-Steele
Chancellor
Professor, University of Massachusetts Law School
333
Faunce Corner Rd., No. Dartmouth, Mass., USA
Ofc.
tel. +1 508-985-1102; email rpeltzsteele@umassd.edu
The Savory Tort (personal blog), UMass Law, SSRN,
YouTube
Course description. A study of American civil litigation and legal culture focusing on defamation and privacy. Litigation in the United States and France by Brigitte Macron over assertions about her gender identity highlights stark differences between how U.S. and French law protect personal interests such as reputation and privacy, and how the law balances competing rights, such as free speech and democratic participation. This study examines defamation and privacy litigation as a means to understand issues arising in the American system of civil dispute resolution, including years-long process, bankrupting awards, and whether justice is ever truly achieved. Coverage includes the substantive law of media torts (delict) in the common law tradition, and constitutional defenses, and incorporates civil procedural law and strategy in pleadings, motions, and discovery. The study ultimately points to larger questions about the durability of democracy in a post-truth society.
Learning objectives. By the end of the week students should have capability at an introductory level to:
- articulate the basic elements of defamation and privacy torts in American common law;
- articulate the legal implications of a free-speech constitutional defense to defamation and privacy torts;
- compose element-driven allegations, responses, and discovery demands in American litigation;
- construct basic verbal arguments on dispositive motions in American litigation; and
- recognize the potential and limitations of American litigation as a system to resolve civil disputes over reputation and privacy to a client’s satisfaction.
Class meetings. The class meets five times on a schedule to be determined by the local program of the faculty of law at Le Havre, from June 1 to June 5. Expect that we will be doubling up on Monday or Tuesday and skipping Wednesday. Whatever the day-to-day schedule, we'll cover the five lessons in order.
Class materials. All assigned content is linked to electronic sources below and at our course web page; there is no text to purchase. Links to in-class content will be added to the course web page during the week of the course. We will have to write and exchange work product in class. If everyone brings an electronic device, we can accomplish this writing and exchange electronically, with email, so please bring a device with which you can write and share. If everyone does not have a suitable device, we will fall back on pen and paper, so please prepare for that possibility, too.
Assessment. Students are assessed qualitatively on their informed participation in a motions practice exercise in class (Thursday, 25%), on a settlement negotiation exercise in class (Friday, 25%), and on a final exam requiring multiple-choice and narrative responses (Friday, 50%). Assessment rubrics for exercises are posted in Assignments. Assessment is subject to the normative constraints of the local program. All conduct restrictions of the local program pertain to the course, including policies on attendance, accommodation, audiovisual recording, artificial intelligence, and academic integrity.