Liberty sues Jerry Falwell Jr. and claims millions in damages

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Liberty University has filed a civil lawsuit against its former leader, Jerry Falwell Jr., who sought tens of millions in damages after the two parted ways last year.

The complaint, filed Thursday at the Lynchburg Circuit Court, alleges that Falwell has crafted a “ well-resourced exit strategy ” from his role as president and chancellor in the form of a lucrative 2019 employment contract, while depriving the evangelical school of harmful information about it. a personal scandal would explode in public opinion the following year.

“Despite his clear duties as a Liberty executive and officer, Falwell Jr. opted for personal protection,” the lawsuit said.

It also alleges that Falwell failed to disclose and address “the issue of his personal limitation by alcohol,” and has refused to fully return Liberty’s confidential information and other personal property.

Falwell responded to a call from The Associated Press on Friday with a text message saying he was not available to speak.

It was not immediately clear whether he has a lawyer to represent him in the case. The AP has left a message requesting comment from a lawyer who previously represented him.

Falwell’s departure from the University of Virginia in August 2020 came shortly after Giancarlo Granda, a younger business associate of the Falwell family, said he had years of sexual relations with Falwell’s wife, Becki Falwell, and that Jerry Falwell was a voyeur in some of the contacts.

Although the Falwells acknowledged that Granda and Becki Falwell were having an affair, Jerry Falwell denied any participation. The couple claimed that Granda wanted to blackmail them by threatening to reveal the relationship.

The lawsuit says Falwell had a “fiduciary duty to disclose Granda’s extortionist actions, and to disclose the potential for serious harm to Liberty.”

Instead, Falwell “promoted the conspiracy of silence and negotiated a 2019 employment contract that included a higher salary from Liberty,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit states that the actions of Falwell and Granda harmed Liberty’s enrollment, harmed fundraising, disrupted faculty, resulted in the 2019 agreement that “proved detrimental to the interests of Liberty” and the reputation of the school. has harmed. Granda is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

University spokesman Scott Lamb said Liberty’s “only word on this topic is the lawsuit itself.”

Before the Granda scandal broke, Falwell was already on leave after posting a photo on social media that caused a stir. It showed Falwell on a yacht with a drink in his hand and his arm around a young woman who was not his wife, their pants unzipped and his underwear exposed.

The complaint offers new details, written with panache, that reflect the university’s perspective on its break with Falwell.

“The time had come for Falwell Jr. to monetize the miraculous success of Liberty,” he said of the contract negotiations. The lengthy treatise includes subsections with titles such as “Falwell’s Auspicious Acts of August of 2020” and “Falwell Jr.’s Hard Fall,” referring to a fall from the stairs that gave rise to an emergency number.

According to the lawsuit, after Falwell gave a radio interview about the hunting photo in which he gave an ‘unclear’ explanation, Becki Falwell ‘intervened. ‘

According to the lawsuit, Becki Falwell contacted three members of the executive committee of Liberty’s board of directors to warn them of what “she described as her husband’s excessive drinking.”

“Becki’s heartfelt appeal had an impact on Liberty leaders and helped provide a context for understanding Falwell’s questionable public comments, troubling behavior and inappropriate social media posts,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also alleges that there was concern at Liberty that Falwell “smelled of alcohol during work interactions.”

It was agreed that Falwell would go on leave and pay Liberty for his “rehabilitation,” but according to the lawsuit, a dispute later arose between Falwell and school leaders over the type of treatment.

The lawsuit alleges three cases: breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and legal conspiracy.

At second count, the lawsuit says it is seeking damages in excess of $ 10 million. Under the conspiracy charge, it is claiming $ 10 million in damages and states that that amount should be tripled, as allowed by state law under limited circumstances, plus $ 350,000 in punitive damages. Liberty also seeks other costs and fees.

A lawyer and real estate developer, Falwell had run Liberty since the death of his father, the televangelist in 2007, Reverend Jerry Falwell, who also founded the Moral Majority, making evangelicals a key factor in the Republican Party.

In early 2016, Falwell became one of the first conservative Christians to support Donald Trump for president, defending him after Trump’s lewd comments about women and sexual assault, captured in a 2005 Access Hollywood recording, went public late in the campaign.

Falwell pursued the controversy in court and stayed in the news, vigorously criticizing Democrats online.

In late August, shortly after Falwell’s resignation, Liberty announced that it opened an independent investigation into Falwell’s tenure as president. The investigation, led by an outside accounting firm and described by the school as a broad look at “all facets” of Liberty ‘s workings under Falwell, is ongoing and the school has not released preliminary information on it.

Falwell complained Liberty for defamation in October, claiming the school had damaged its reputation, but dropped the case in December without explanation.

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