Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and others owe rival preacher Marvin Gorman $10 million for spreading lies about Gorman's sex life, a jury has decided.
Gorman said Swaggart orchestrated a smear campaign that forced him out of the Assemblies of God church and forced his budding television ministry into bankruptcy in 1987.The jury said Swaggart, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and another Assemblies of God minister defamed Gorman. They and William Treeby, a board member of Swaggart's ministry and his longtime attorney, inflicted intentional emotional harm on Gorman and conspired to do so, the state civil court jury concluded late Thursday.
The jury was deliberating Friday to decide how much individual defendants and their insurers must pay.
But Swaggart's lawyer, Phillip Wittmann, said he expects Judge Julian Bailes to throw out the verdict, reached after 25 hours of deliberations. And Swaggart said he would appeal if the judge upholds the ruling.
"Either they overlooked the evidence, or else they didn't understand the rules or overlooked the testimony," Swaggart said.
The jury said Gorman is entitled to $1 million in personal damages and his bankrupt ministry to $9 million.
"We are absolutely satisfied," said Gorman, who had sued for $90 million. "We want to pay our bills. We feel we can do that with this. The main thing I wanted served was the truth to come out."
The First Assembly of God church in New Orleans, where Gorman preached until July 16, 1986, was also found responsible for inflicting emotional harm on Gorman.
Gorman grinned slightly as the verdict was read.
"You've been waiting for five years to have your story told. It was all I could do to stay in my seat," he said.