“Liberty University has sued Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 million, exacerbating the messy divorce between the Christian university and its former president whose family name has been synonymous with the university since its founding. The suit, filed on Thursday, alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty. It claims that Mr. Falwell withheld scandalous and potentially damaging information from Liberty’s board of trustees, while negotiating a generous new contract for himself in 2019 under false pretenses. Mr. Falwell also failed to disclose and address ‘his personal impairment by alcohol,’ the suit alleges. Last August, Mr. Falwell claimed that he was being threatened with extortion by a man who had a yearslong sexual relationship with Mr. Falwell’s wife, Becki.”

“The suit claims that by keeping the sexual entanglement and resulting ‘extortion’ a secret, Mr. Falwell endangered and later damaged Liberty’s reputation. Instead of divulging the active threat to Liberty’s board, ‘Falwell Jr. chose personal protection,’ the suit claims. A spokesman for Liberty University, Scott Lamb, said the school had no comment on the suit. Mr. Falwell did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday morning. The university filed the suit on the same day that its board of trustees arrived in Lynchburg, Va., for its semiannual meeting, at which they are set to discuss the university’s future, including its search for a permanent leader. Jerry Prevo, a close associate of Mr. Falwell’s father and the former pastor of a large church in Alaska, has been serving as interim president since August. Mr. Prevo is also a member of the board’s powerful executive committee” – New York Times.