Settlement Reached In Suit Between Tennessee Baptists and Belmont University

A settlement has been reached in the 2004 lawsuit brought by the Tennessee Baptist Convention against Belmont University, according to an ABP report yesterday. The litigation began after the school took steps to become independent. The Baptist Convention attempted to enforce a 1951 agreement that called for the school to reimburse the Convention for contributions if the school should "pass from Baptist control." Belmont University argued that the 1951 document had been superseded by later agreements. The settlement calls for Belmont to provide the Tennessee Baptist Convention with $11 million toward a missions and ministry endowment fund. A press release by Belmont University gives more details on the settlement which provides for a payout of funds to TBC over a 40-year period and