Liberty University sues Jerry Falwell Jr.

The Baptist school in Lynchburg, Va., is seeking more than $10 million in damages from its former president and chancellor. A civil lawsuit filed Thursday claims Jerry Falwell Jr. intentionally built a 2019 employment agreement to allow him to leave the school without informing leadership of personal scandals.

What is in the lawsuit? Liberty accuses Falwell of failing to disclose in 2019 his “personal impairment by alcohol” and a developing scandal with Giancarlo Granda. It also alleges Falwell hasn’t returned all of the schools’ confidential information and property. In 2020, Granda claimed he had a sexual relationship with Falwell’s wife, Becki, and that Falwell was involved. The couple has acknowledged an affair between Becki and Granda but denied Jerry participated in any way. Falwell did not immediately respond to the lawsuit. He sued Liberty for defamation in October.

Dig deeper: Read Michael Reneau’s reports about Falwell’s resignation and how things got this far.