Johnny Hunt, SBC trial date set for next year after sides couldn't reach settlement
A judge has set the trial date for former Southern Baptist President Johnny Hunt's lawsuit against the SBC and other entities over alleged defamation and violation of privacy after both sides were unable to reach a settlement.
U.S. District Judge William Campbell of the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, set the jury trial date for June 17, according to Baptist Press, the official news organ of the SBC.
Originally, the trial was to begin last month. However, after a court teleconference held on Oct. 31, the parties pushed back the trial to some point after the beginning of May 2025.
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"[L]ead counsel for Plaintiff and Defendant Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention shall have a face-to-face meeting to see if they can reach an agreement about reopening discovery for the limited purpose of deposing Kevin Ezell, Jeremy Morton, and Ed Litton," explained a court document.
"Any future discovery disputes must involve lead counsel meeting in person, face-to-face before bringing the dispute to the Court. If any such disputes are brought to the Court, the parties must certify that lead counsel met in person and made a good faith effort to resolve the dispute."
In May 2022, Guidepost Solutions released an independent investigation report detailing its investigations into extensive allegations that SBC leaders intimidated whistleblowers and exonerated churches facing credible claims of abuse.
Hunt was named in the report, claiming the wife of a younger pastor accused him of assaulting her in 2010.
First Baptist Church Woodstock in Georgia suspended Hunt in June 2022 from his role as pastor emeritus in response to the report. Hunt returned to the pulpit in January 2023 at Hiland Park Baptist Church of Panama City, Florida.
In March 2023, Hunt filed a lawsuit against the denomination, the SBC Executive Committee, and Guidepost, accusing them of wrongfully defaming his character and violating his privacy.
Hunt said the 2010 incident was a "brief, inappropriate, extramarital encounter with a married woman" that "involved only kissing and some awkward fondling" and "should not have been published at all."
"This was a private failing by Pastor Johnny and the woman involved, and the story should have ended there. But it didn't," stated the complaint. "By focusing on the allegation against Pastor Johnny — an allegation by an adult woman that involved noncriminal conduct — and by then taking aggressive action against Pastor Johnny, the Defendants sought to create the appearance that the SBC has learned from its previous mistakes and is now working to protect victims of sex crimes."
In September, SBC President Clint Pressley announced that, despite earlier reports indicating such, no settlement had been reached between the two parties.
