Johnny Hunt Gets Cooked After Judge Dismisses Nearly All Charges In $100M Lawsuit Against SBC
A federal judge dismissed all but one of the claims in disgraced pastor Johnny Hunt’s $100M lawsuit against his former denomination and their respective entities, leaving only his defamation charge against then-SBC president Bart Barber intact.
Judge William Campbell granted motions for summary judgment in the case on Monday, ruling in favor of SBC, the Executive Committee, and Guidpost Solutions:
“Pending before the Court are Defendants’ motions for summary judgment (Doc. Nos. 216, 222, 229), which are fully briefed. For the reasons stated in the forthcoming Memorandum, the motions for summary judgment are GRANTED IN PART as follows:
Guidepost’s motion is GRANTED as to all claims.
The motions by the Southern Baptist Convention (“SBC”) and the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (“Executive Committee”) are GRANTED as to the claims for:
-false light (Count III)
-public disclosure of embarrassing private facts (Count VI)
-negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress (Counts IV and V)
-and the defamation claim (Count I) arising out of the Report and the Letter.
SBC and the Executive Committee’s motion are DENIED as to the defamation claim (Count I) based on the Tweet.
“It is so ORDERED.”
While a memorandum explaining the reasons for the dismissals, it’s great news for Southern Baptists who have spent several years and over $3M defending against Hunt in court, with the only actionable egg in Hunt’s basket being this since-deleted tweet from Barber.
David Morrill of Protestia notes:
It is unclear whether or not Hunt will appeal.
A decade ago, Hunt engaged in what he describes as a “brief, consensual extramarital encounter,” and what the woman involved maintains was non-consensual sexual assault. His church was never told about the incident and he went through a secret restoration. It remained a secret for a decade until it was outed in the recent Guidepost investigation.
These allegations of sexual assault and revelation of (at the minimum) a “brief, consensual extramarital encounter” caused Hunt’s life and ministry to implode. He lost his job as VP at NAMB, was formally suspended from his position as Pastor Emeritus at First Baptist Church of Woodstock congregation, and was subject to great personal embarrassment.
Hunt sued the SBC and Guidepost for labeling him as an abuser and making this public, saying that his sexual encounters were no one’s business but his own. In court transcripts, Hunt insisted that while he may have been ‘unfaithful’ to his wife by kissing another woman’s breasts and pulling down her underwear, he did not commit adultery, as no penetration took place.
Hunt sued for $100M, alleging “economic harms of $15.4M, harm to reputation of $30M – $45M, and emotional harm of $30M – $45M.” Of special note is that Hunt says he has lost $610,000 a year in lost wages, along with $3,969,00 a year in book sales and another $350,000 a year in speaking engagements.
Commenting on the news, SBC President Clint Pressley wrote on X.
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I am sorry to see that ungodly organization Guidepost get off the hook. The story they publicized smells. In reality the woman probably cheated with Hunt and tried to cover it up to mollify her husband by recasting it in the improbable scenario announced by Guidepost. It reminds me of the obviously fake story that was thrown at Pete Hegseth by a wife who cheated with him.