LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) — Liberty University has filed a counterclaim against a lawsuit filed by Walter Scott Lamb, former Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Engagement, regarding his claim of the school’s “mishandling of Title IX sexual misconduct accusations.”
In the lawsuit filed late last week, the university says that Lamb “started his career with peripheral positions but aspired to grander importance.”
Lamb filed suit against Liberty University last month alleging that he was terminated as “retaliation for his opposition to the University’s mishandling of Title IX sexual misconduct accusations.”
The counterclaim seeks up to $3 million in damages against Lamb and his accusations against the school, which include punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and more.
Lamb’s suit against the university claims that his firing was, in part, due to a meeting held on Oct. 4, where Lamb expressed concerns over the direction that the university was heading.
The lawsuit says discussions with Lamb and members of Liberty University — including current President Jerry Prevo — became heated. That’s when Prevo reportedly threatened to terminate his employment and demanded Lamb’s resignation.
Liberty’s counterclaim alleges that Lamb has defamed the school in several interactions with various media to explain his version of his firing. The university’s response was that Lamb was fired for being “insubordinate,” as well as his failure to “obtain requisite expense approvals, and failed to conduct the business affairs of his department to the standards set by Liberty.”
The counterclaim also says that Lamb breached his contract with the university, breached his fiduciary duty, and is guilty of conversion by reportedly being in possession of documents and other confidential information that belongs to Liberty University.
Also listed in the counterclaim by Liberty University, Lamb is accused of misappropriation of trade secrets when he “accessed, copied and has wrongfully retained Liberty Documents and Confidential Information.”
The counterclaim continues to say that Lamb, even after his termination, “unlawfully disclosed Liberty Documents and Confidential Information to third parties on at least two occasions.”
Lamb has responded to Liberty’s counterclaim.
In the document provided to WFXR News by Lamb, he says, “As I allege in my lawsuit, I spoke about the abuses at Liberty during the entire duration of my employment, I spoke out loudly, often and with little regard for hanging to my job, because I spoke as one who will give an account to God. ‘The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.'”
Read Lamb’s full response below:
View Liberty University’s court documents below:
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