Jerry Falwell Jr. scores first win in legal battle against Liberty University
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — A federal judge's ruling on Tuesday gave Jerry Falwell Jr. his first win in his legal battle against Liberty University.
Fallwell claims the school owes him more than $8.5 million in denied retirement benefits after his time working at the president of the school.
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Liberty said they were duped when they signed the retirement agreement because Falwell knew when he signed the deal that the story would break soon regarding his scandal involving a pool attendant.
Two weeks ago, Liberty's attorneys moved to end the federal case completely, claiming the same case is underway in the state court. The federal judge disagreed, ultimately filing a ruling that declared the two cases are vastly different.
Now the case will proceed into federal court. It's not the only recent source of legal tension between Falwell and the school where he formerly sat as president.
On July 28, Falwell announced that the Dr. Jerry L. Falwell Family Trust is suing Liberty for exploiting Jerry Falwell Sr.'s trademarked name and image.
The lawsuit claims that Liberty has wrongfully used Dr. Falwell’s name and image, and the “Jerry Falwell” trademark. Such wrongdoing includes using them without permission or license to create a false association with the Jerry Falwell brand and the impression that the use of Dr. Falwell’s intellectual property is authorized by the Trust, which it is not.
Liberty's position on the lawsuit is that Dr. Falwell's name and image is synonymous with the school and that the Trust's requests in the situation were unrealistic.
“Dr. Jerry. Falwell, Sr. founded Liberty University in 1971. His name is synonymous with Liberty University, and for decades has been used across campus, including on buildings such as the Jerry Falwell Museum and the Jerry Falwell Library," a spokesperson for the school said.