The Johnny Hunt defamation lawsuit proceeds to trial on November 12, barring setbacks, against the Southern Baptist Convention, et. al. This is the most bombastic lawsuit facing the Southern Baptist Convention because Hunt was a former SBC president and his salacious misdeeds were the biggest revelation of the report, despite being outside the scope of the investigation conducted by Guidepost Solutions. The Southern Baptist Convention has reportedly spent $3 million on this lawsuit contributing to a liquidity crisis. In contrast, David Sills has, perhaps the most potent lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention, et. al. The defamation case is centered on David Sills having an ongoing extramarital relationship with Jennifer Lyell that began when she was 26 and lasted 12 years whilst she became an executive at Lifeway. The Southern Baptist Convention repeatedly labeled Sills as a sex abuser.
The fiscal situation of the Southern Baptist Convention is not likely to improve as the Sills lawsuit has more documents involved in discovery than either side anticipated.
On September 18, both sides filed a joint motion to amend the deadlines of the case. “[T]he Parties respectfully and jointly seek entry of an Order that modifies case management deadlines and resets the trial date to February 2026”
This is good news for the lawyers as they have more time, but terrible news for Southern Baptists who will bleed cash to pay these legal expenses, and that’s without factoring in any potential settlements or judgments.
