The opinion is Pfau v. Mortenson (D. Mont. Apr. 30, 2012). I’m swamped right now, but I thought I’d pass along the opinion — which I should note heavily focuses on questions of whether the fraud was pled with enough particularity, something that’s required in fraud cases under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure — and an excerpt from this Time report:
As of yesterday, Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson is — at least legally — in the clear. The writer and philanthropist’s best-selling memoir (and its follow-up, Stones into Schools) has been tainted for almost exactly a year by accusations of falsehood: Last April, a 60 Minutes report and an investigation by journalist Jon Krakauer both alleged that Mortenson had fabricated portions of his book, a tale of how he took on the mission of building schools in Central Asia, and that he had improperly used funds from his charity, the Central Asia Institute, to promote the book. In the ensuing months, several readers who felt bilked by having bought the book filed lawsuits, but an Illinois suit against the Institute and Mortenson was dropped in July, and now a federal judge in Montana has dismissed the remaining charges of fraud and racketeering.