For more than 10 years, a group of investors has been battling the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart and his Family Worship Center Church over an undeveloped tract of land located behind the church’s Family Christian Academy.
Their day in court has finally come.
As Business Report details in the new issue, jury selection began on Jan. 25 for what was scheduled to be a two-week trial in Judge William Morvant’s courtroom in the 19th Judicial District in East Baton Rouge Parish. On one side sat the defendants: Terry Jones and Stephen Jones, who are not related, and Gary Solomon, all principals in Health Science Park LLC.
On the other sat Swaggart, who still cuts an imposing figure though visibly grayed since his days of televangelism dominance, and his wife, Frances.
At issue is a 60-acre parcel located on the east side of Bluebonnet Boulevard that HSP optioned from Swaggart’s church in 2004 for $6.7 million. Were it any other piece of property, the suit might be just another business deal gone bad. But with a dwindling supply of undeveloped commercial land in the parish’s lucrative southeast corner, this particular tract is a developer’s dream.
Back in the early 2000s, the Joneses’ dream for the site was to develop a medical campus there to replace the then-aging Earl K. Long charity hospital. They brought Solomon into the deal, and in 2004 optioned the land from Swaggart, whose lawyer says he was happy to sell for a project that would benefit the community.
But after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, real estate prices soared and Swaggart started crawfishing on the deal. His attorney concedes he had second thoughts but not because he wanted more money. Rather, he says the developers wouldn’t agree to a restriction that the property only be used for the LSU replacement hospital. HSP claims it never agreed to that restriction.
In any case, HSP managed to extend the option agreement, for which it paid the church $100,000.
Almost immediately, the church sued, claiming defamation among other things. HSP countersued, and for more than 10 years the lawyers have been battling it out, creating a court record that fills volumes.
At one point in 2008, Morvant ruled on a motion for summary judgment that would have ended the case in favor of HSP. But the church appealed, and the state First Circuit Court of Appeal sent the case back to the trial court, saying the church was entitled to a jury trial.
Now that trial is underway, the question before the jury is basically this: Does HSP have the right to exercise the option and buy the property at its pre-Katrina price of $6.7 million?
Even if HSP wins, the group is asking for $3.5 million in damages. It’s just a fraction of the $30 million deal their attorney says they missed out on by not being able to buy and develop the property a decade ago.
If HSP loses, the group will likely do what the church will do if it loses: appeal to a higher court, ensuring the property will remain tied up in litigation a little longer.
—Stephanie Riegel
