Tulsa World: Judge to rule on dismissing ORU lawsuits

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Judge to rule on dismissing ORU lawsuits
They were filed by a fired accountant and former student.

By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer
Published: 1/9/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 1/9/2009 2:25 AM

An attorney for Oral Roberts University expects a fired accountant's lawsuit alleging misspending at the school to be dismissed this month.

The lawyer, Jo Anne Deaton, said of the plaintiff, Trent Huddleston, "I think it's clear now that Mr. Huddleston has no claims against ORU or any of these defendants."

Lawyers for Huddleston, who was an accountant for Oral Roberts Ministries for about 15 months, have argued that his claims of negligence, civil conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress should go forward.

Huddleston's attorney Gary Richardson said Thursday that both sides had presented their cases and that the decision is up to the judge.

"It if goes against us, it wouldn't be the first time I've been surprised," he said.

Huddleston charges in his suit that ORU and former university President Richard Roberts funneled money from the ministry to bank accounts not affiliated with the university and also spent ORU funds on Roberts' family and their house.

Tulsa County District Judge Michael Gassett moved toward dismissing the claims in November but gave plaintiffs more time to argue their cases. Gassett did dismiss Huddleston's claim of wrongful termination, however.

The defendants say in a court filing this week that none of the claims has merit, and neither does a fraud allegation that the judge also will rule on during the hearing Jan. 27.

Also on that day, Gassett will consider dismissing a separate lawsuit filed against Roberts

and his wife, Lindsay Roberts, by David Brown, a former ORU student who alleges that he was unable to finish his specialized degree because a professor was fired.

The professor, John Swails, was one of three who sued ORU, launching a storm of allegations and scandal in the past year. Swails settled with ORU and is now back at his job. The other two professors settled later. The conditions for their agreements are confidential.

Richardson said the hearing for Brown's case is routine and that he doesn't expect a dismissal.

Richard Roberts resigned in November 2007. ORU is expected to name a new president this year.

Shannon Muchmore 581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

3 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment Tony G, Tulsa (1/9/2009 5:27:57 AM) Ok--if Richard is so innocent--why did he resign? In my opinion--ORU is a sick joke.
	Report Comment Eric, Tulsa (1/9/2009 8:57:59 AM) Perception is greater than reality, and maybe Roberts did nothing wrong IF evidence is lacking. However, I'm inclined to believe that something was amiss with the way Roberts handled events at ORU.
	Report Comment rogerq, Pyongtaek, South Korea (1/10/2009 5:08:22 AM) I am so glad that this is back in the news, yet so sorry that there has not been more response. ORU is a joke to me. I got kicked off campus once in 1984 for flipping nickles between the praying hands. campus police came and asked what we were doing. I told them i was trying to get those hands to go together. they asked us to leave. then there was the prayer tower debacle: give me $11 million or i will die. now this. I want it to go on forever. it's so good.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.