FORT WORTH (BP) – A U.S. District Court has dismissed “with prejudice” a lawsuit originally filed in 2019 that alleged defamation on the part of former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson.
Attorneys representing Jane Roe, Patterson and Southwestern Seminary all agreed to the dismissal that was filed July 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
“Southwestern Seminary is grateful that this matter has been amicably resolved for all involved,” SWBTS said in a statement. “The Seminary has consistently denied any liability or wrongdoing, and the rulings in the case are a matter of public record. We are thankful to put this chapter behind us and to remain focused on our mission.”
In response to questions from Baptist Press, seminary officials confirmed the settlement between Southwestern and Roe involved no seminary funds.
Roe’s initial claim alleged that she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint at least three times in 2014 and 2015 by a fellow student and that neither Patterson nor the seminary sought to protect her after she reported the abuse. The suit against Patterson and SWBTS was dismissed in April 2023. On appeal, however, Roe’s attorneys focused on a section of her original complaint involving a letter from SWBTS donors written in support of Patterson after his May 2018 firing from the seminary. They stated the “Loveless Letter,” as it came to be known, defamed their client and minimized her claims of sexual assault.
Although still technically dismissed from the case, Southwestern nonetheless remained connected by way of the ongoing defamation suit against Patterson and the potential for an appeal. The District Court reaffirmed Southwestern’s dismissed status last December, with permission granted to Patterson to refile for summary judgment.
In May, a jury ruled in favor of Southwestern to the tune of $7.1 million after determining that its insurer had attempted to deny coverage connected to the Roe case.
“This matter has been amicably resolved,” said Roe’s attorney, Sheila Haddock, in response to BP’s request for comment. “The parties’ positions are well-documented in the voluminous court records of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the Texas Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.”
BP reached out to Patterson’s attorneys but had not received a response by deadline.
Note: Story originally published by Baptist Press.