Former president of Penn State, Graham Spanier has refiled a lawsuit against the university that claims it violated an agreement they made when he stepped down in 2011. The ex-president also sued former FBI director Louis Freeh for defamation.
On Wednesday, the two lawsuits which are basically a refiling of a complaint were filed about three weeks after a state's court of appeals dismissed several of the more severe criminal charges against him over how the Jerry Sandusky's child molestation issue was handled. Mr. Spanier first filed in the Centre County Common Pleas Court in March 2015, as reported by ABC News.
The former president claims that after his resignation, his reputation was defaced because of the reports made by the Penn State, shortly after Jerry Sandusky was arrested. Mr. Spanier is also suing ex-FBI director and two related agencies for defamation based on the university-commissioned 2012 report. According to Philly Voice, the report says that Mr. Spanier, Joe Paterno, and two other administrators hid the truth about the Sandusky's scandal just to avoid bad publicity. The lawsuit declares that Mr. Spanier has been unfairly vilified by the report and by statements critical of him by university trustees.
The lawsuits filed against Freeh, Free Group International Solutions, and his law firm consists of an 112-page complaint about the report they created for Penn State. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Penn State made no comment regarding the issue but said that the lawsuits are being reviewed at the moment, as Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Mr. Spanier is seeking a punitive and compensatory damages, costs and fees. Four counts of defamation and one of interference with business relations were submitted to the court.
Although Graham Spanier remains a tenured Penn State faculty member, in 2012, he was placed on academic leave. After leaving the presidency, the employment agreement provided Mr. Spanier a year's sabbatical, plus $600,000 a year up to 2017.
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