Jerry Falwell Jr.: Liberty University files lawsuit against former president

Jerry Falwell Jr.: Liberty University files lawsuit against former president

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According to the university’s lawsuit, Falwell was dishonest with the executive committee when he negotiated an extraordinarily generous divorce package, when he knew that a brewing sex scandal would probably force him at some point. The lawsuit also alleges that Falwell breached his fiduciary duty as the university’s president and board of trustees and had a statutory conspiracy to conceal an alleged plan to expel Falwell from the university.

Liberty is suing for more than $ 40 million in damages and penalties, plus any other damages that could be proven during the trial.

The case was filed Thursday in a court in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Liberty University spokesman Scott Lamb declined to comment further on the current lawsuit.

CNN has sued Falwell and a lawyer representing him over other legal representatives but has not yet heard of it.

In a statement to the New York Times, Mr. Falwell said the lawsuit was “full of lies and half-truths” and “another attempt to defame me and discredit my record after a series of harsh and unnecessary actions.”
Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University last August after a series of scandals and would receive a $ 10.5 million severance package from the school over the next few years.
Falwell has recently been charged with libel at Liberty University following his retirement from Christian school. He dismissed the lawsuit later in December.
“I am sad that university officials, with whom I have shared so much success and enjoyed such positive relationships, came to conclusions about the allegations against my character, did not properly investigate them and subsequently damaged my reputation after my forced resignation,” Falwell said in a statement after submitting the defamation court

The controversies

According to Liberty University’s case, Falwell acted against the “spirit” of the university in several cases, and his alleged disgraceful actions ultimately harmed the school and its reputation. According to the lawsuit, the school is known for its openly conservative policies that require students to refrain from ‘immodest behavior’ and alcohol.

Last August, a former pool guard at the hotel, Giancarlo Granda, became known for allegations that he and Falwell’s wife Becki had had sexual intercourse for years, sometimes while the evangelical leader was watching.
Former President Donald Trump and Jerry Falwell Jr. during commencement of Liberty University in May 2017.

Falwell acknowledged their relationship in a statement at the time, saying, “Becki had an inappropriate personal relationship with this person, something I was not involved in.” He said he reconciled with his wife and asked for professional help. Falwell also said in his statement that Granda was trying to blackmail him and his wife, a charge that Granda denies.

The university’s lawsuit alleges that Falwell, instead of disclosing Granda’s alleged attempts at extortion to the university, ‘led to a plan to disguise the illegal conduct’.

‘Falwell Jr. wanted Liberty to pay him severance and retirement benefits if Granda disclosed the Granda allegations, and Falwell Jr. thus deliberately withholding information from Liberty that would change the nature of the negotiations of the 2019 service agreement, ‘the lawsuit said.

The allegations by Granda were the last controversy that caused a dramatic fall of grace for one of the country’s most prominent evangelists.

Jerry Falwell Jr. says he resigned as president of Liberty University
Last June, Falwell apologized after removing a much-criticized tweet showing one in black face and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.
And later in August, the Liberty University executive committee asked Falwell to take an “indefinite leave” after posting a photo on Instagram showing him with his pants ripped open and his waist visible. In the photo, Falwell is holding a cup of dark liquid and she has one arm around a woman whose shorts are also wrapped.

In a radio interview shortly thereafter, Falwell said the woman was his wife’s assistant and they were at a costume party. He said the incident was ‘just very enjoyable’, but added that he should never have posted the photo.

Lawsuit alleges Falwell wanted an ‘escape hatch’

Falwell, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, wanted an “escape hatch” for any political and personal outbursts during the 2019 service agreement negotiations, according to the lawsuit.

While Trump wants re-election, a chapter on the religious right's Falwell era closes

“Falwell Jr. has asked the Executive Committee to provide him with a safety valve to protect him from such actions, as he raised his profile in 2016 by being the first major evangelical leader to personally endorse Donald Trump as president. Falwell “Jr. claimed that he wanted an escape hatch for political and personal outbursts,” the lawsuit reads.

Falwell is the son of Rev. Jerry Falwell, who was co-founder of Liberty University in 1971 and helped found the conservative movement Moral Majority. Elder Falwell died in 2007 and his son succeeded him as president of the university.

His son significantly raised the school’s profile – and finances – as president.

As president, Falwell said he oversaw $ 1 billion in new construction projects, pioneered online learning platforms that promoted enrollment, and brought Liberty’s soccer and basketball teams to Division 1, the most competitive level of college sports. The school’s donation grew to $ 1.6 billion in 2020.

CNN’s Daniel Burke contributed to this report.

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