While the court has not ruled on the motion to dismiss David and Mary Sills’ current lawsuit, Judge Jeffery S. Frensley of the U.S. District Court of Middle Tennessee is allowing discovery to continue.
The Sillses filed suit in May 2023 against a large group of defendants and claim David was defamed by the description of his admitted extramarital relationship with former seminary student Jennifer Lyell. She has reported the relationship as sexual abuse and one of manipulation while he contends it was consensual. This suit is a refiling of a previous suit filed and dismissed in Alabama.
David Sills was a professor at Southern Seminary while Lyell was a student there.
The request to pause discovery came from defendants Lyell and Eric Geiger (both formerly with Lifeway), SolutionPoint International, Guidepost Solutions, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and SBTS president Al Mohler.
