If you didn't get the job, you could sue for slander and obtain a court order to view what was sent by your prior employer. Then you could take your prior employer to court and sue, claim slander and ruined career. Not being hired at the new place would only build credibility to your claim. A few million would be more than justifiable as expected career earnings.

Ex, a friend of the family is a doctor with a particular group. One doctor made a mistake and the group voted to kick him out. He took the group to court over slander and won a multi-million dollar law suit. Now enter some regional airline who thought they would get the final punch by sending off your personal HR information to the gaining company. This is sctrictly prohibited in most states, an excellent case for a law suit. I am not a big fan of lawyers, but hammering away on some regional airline wouldn't bother me in the least.