From the Feb. 19 Nevada Court of Appeals decision in Breslaw v. Bd. of Regents, just recently posted on Westlaw:
Breslaw is an alumna of … the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). In or around the time of the 2018-2019 school year, Breslaw developed a self-described limerence for one of her history professors, … who Breslaw asked for a letter of recommendation into graduate school. ["Limerence" apparently means "the state of being obsessively infatuated with someone, usually accompanied by delusions of or a desire for an intense romantic relationship with that person."]
After several conversations with [the professor,] Dr. Gallo (which Breslaw interpreted as unprofessional and terse), Breslaw reported Dr. Gallo to … the chair of the history department, who informed her that a formal complaint had been filed against Dr. Gallo on Breslaw's behalf. Breslaw then "spent several months contacting every UNLV administrative office zealously trying to retract the complaint," and attempted to explain to Dr. Gallo that her anxiety disorder caused her to misread the situation. Her attempts were unsuccessful, which culminated in a "public mental breakdown on Reddit" between October and December of 2019 wherein Breslaw made several public reddit posts seeking advice on the situation.
During this time, Reddit user u/thestickystickman collected Breslaw's posts and posted a summary of Breslaw's Reddit activity in the r/SubredditDrama forum, where it purportedly reached viral status [and led to further litigation -EV]. Eventually[,] UNLV's general counsel allegedly learned of the post and sent Breslaw a cease and desist letter informing her that she was no longer permitted to contact any of UNLV's faculty or staff for any reason. Ultimately, neither Dr. Gallo nor any other faculty at UNLV agreed to write Breslaw a letter of recommendation, and Breslaw's applications to the graduate programs at UNLV and the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) were denied.
Breslaw sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage. The IIED claim was dismissed under the two-year statute of limitations applicable to the tort, and the appellate court agreed:
