To countersue or not to countersue. The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee debated on Tuesday (Sept. 23) at its fall meeting whether to pursue countersuits in cases involving allegedly fraudulent claims of EC responsibility.
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Background
The discussion stemmed from a motion at June’s SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas urging legal counsel to countersue former SBC President Johnny Hunt to recover legal fees from his ongoing lawsuit. EC officers recommended declining, a decision the larger body affirmed — though not unanimously.
Tennessee attorney and EC member Dani Bryson urged consideration of the moral cost-benefit of such actions, noting potential future lawsuits against the SBC. EC counsel Robert Pautienus advised that Tennessee law would require filing a new lawsuit — not a countersuit — and that malicious prosecution claims are difficult to prove.
EC President Jeff Iorg and others also cited 1 Corinthians 6’s warnings against lawsuits among believers.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This report is a summary of an article written by Scott Barkley and originally published by Baptist Press.
