Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Defamation
Plaintiff, a graduate student and candidate for PhD program, sued for defamation based on letter to university administrators stating that Plaintiff had committed plagiarism. Court properly granted summary judgment for Defendants, as claim did not fall within any of four categories of defamation per se established in Illinois law, and as Plaintiff cannot prove essential element of false statements by Defendants. (HOFFMAN and DELORT, concurring.)