RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Liberty University has filed a civil lawsuit against its former leader, Jerry Falwell Jr., claiming tens of millions in damages after the two severely divorced last year.
The complaint, filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court on Thursday, alleges that Falwell compiled a ‘well-equipped exit strategy’ from his role as president and chancellor in the form of a lucrative service agreement in 2019, while the damaging information of the evangelical school over a personal scandal that would explode in public view next year.
“Despite his clear duties as an executive at Liberty, Falwell Jr. has opted for personal protection,” the lawsuit states.
It is also alleged that Falwell did not disclose or address ‘the issue of his personal aggravation by alcohol’ and that he refused to fully return confidential information and other personal property belonging to Liberty.
In a statement, Falwell said the case was full of “lies and half-truths” and called it an attempt to defame him and discredit his record.
“I assure you that I will defend myself with conviction,” he said.
Falwell’s departure of the University of Virginia in August 2020 shortly after Giancarlo Granda, a younger business partner of the Falwell family, said he had a year-long sexual relationship with Falwell’s wife, Becki Falwell, and that Jerry Falwell as a voyeur to some of the switches participated.
Although the Falwells admitted that Granda and Becki Falwell had an affair, Jerry Falwell denied any involvement. The couple claim that Granda is trying to blackmail them by threatening to reveal the relationship.
The lawsuit alleges that Falwell’s was a “duty of trust to disclose Granda’s extortion actions and to seriously harm the potential for Liberty”.
Instead, Falwell “promoted the conspiracy of silence and negotiated a 2019 employment agreement that includes a higher salary from Liberty,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit alleges that the actions of Falwell and Granda injured Liberty’s enrollment, impaired fundraising, disrupted the faculty, led to the 2019 agreement that had a detrimental effect on Liberty’s interests and damaged the school’s reputation. . Granda is not mentioned as an accused in the case.
University spokesman Scott Lamb said Liberty’s “only word on the subject is the lawsuit itself.”
Before the Granda scandal exploded, Falwell was already on leave after they posted a photo on social media that caused a stir. It showed Falwell on a hunt with a drink in his hand and his arm around a young woman, who was not his wife, their pants were open and his underwear was exposed.
The complaint, written with a bloom, offers new details that reflect the university’s perspective on the split with Falwell before and after the photo scandal.
“The time has come for Falwell Jr. to take advantage of Liberty’s amazing success,” the contract negotiations say. The long dissertation contains subsections with titles such as ‘Falwell’s Favorable Acts of August 2020’ and ‘Falwell Jr.’s Hard Fall’, which refers to a tumble down the stairs that prompted a 911 call.
According to the lawsuit, Becki ‘intervened’ Falwell after Falwell conducted a radio interview about the hunting photo in which he offered an ‘unclear’ explanation.
According to the lawsuit, Becki Falwell contacted three members of Liberty’s executive committee to warn them about “what she described as her husband’s excessive use of alcohol.”
“Becki’s sincere appeal has had an impact on Liberty’s leaders and provided a context for understanding Falwell’s dubious public comments, worrying behavior and inappropriate posts on social media,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit also alleges that Liberty was concerned that Falwell “smelled of alcohol during work interactions.”
It was agreed that Falwell would go on leave and pay Liberty for his ‘rehabilitation’, but a dispute later arose between Falwell and school leaders over the type of treatment.
The case alleges three charges: breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and statutory conspiracy.
On the second point, the lawsuit states that it claims damages of more than $ 10 million. On the conspiracy charge, it seeks compensation of $ 10 million and argues that the amount should be tripled, as permitted by state law under limited circumstances, plus $ 350,000 in punitive damages. Liberty also charges other costs and fees.
Falwell, a lawyer and real estate developer, has led Liberty since the death of his television father in 2007, Rev. Jerry Falwell, who also founded the Moral Majority, who made evangelists a key force in the Republican Party.
In early 2016, Falwell becomes one of the first conservative Christians to endorse Donald Trump for the presidency. He continued the controversy in court and stayed in the news, severely criticizing the Democrats online.
In late August, shortly after Falwell’s resignation, Liberty announced that it initiates an independent inquiry into Falwell’s term as president. The investigation is ongoing, and the school has not released any preliminary information about it.
Falwell sued Liberty for libel in October and claims the school damaged his reputation but dropped the case in December without explanation.