Liberty University has filed a lawsuit against its former president Jerry Falwell Jr., for breaching his contract and fiduciary duty to the school that has been engulfed in scandal over his personal behavior, according to Politico.
In a lawsuit filed on Thursday the Christian school says it’s seeking $10 million in damages –which it said can be tripled under Virginia law–due to Falwell’s various indiscretions that harmed the “spiritual mission of Liberty.”
Falwell resigned last year amid allegations from a Miami hotel pool boy named Giancarlo Granda that he had engaged in a lengthy affair with Fallwell’s wife while he watched.
Liberty said Falwell breached his duties by refusing to disclose his and his wife Becki’s relationship with the attendant, and negotiating a higher salary and severance package when he knew the affair could damage the school.
In the lawsuit filed on Thursday, Liberty University also listed other scandals that engulfed the school when Falwell was at its helm.
It includes various photos of Falwell that appear to run counter to the Christian ethos of the university, such as images of him partying at a Miami-area night club, working out with two young women, and at a costume party on a yacht with his pants unzipped and arm around a woman, according to Politico.
The University also wants Falwell to return phones, computers and other property belonging to the school.
Falwell’s conduct has “induced injury to Liberty’s enrollment, impacted its donor base, disrupted its faculty” and “damaged Liberty’s reputation,” the university alleges in the suit.
In a statement, to USA Today, Falwell said the lawsuit 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 against it with conviction,” he said.
Falwell sued Liberty for defamation in October, alleging the school had damaged his reputation, but dropped the case in December without explanation.
