PAPA JOHN'S FOUNDER COUNTERS AD FIRM'S BASELESS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN ONGOING LAWSUIT

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May 24, 2023, 08:03 ET

Papa John Schnatter: Defendant is distracting "from the facts of the case at hand"

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, John Schnatter, the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Papa John's International (PZZA), announced a Federal Court filing in response to Wasserman Media's Motion for Summary Judgment in his 2019 lawsuit against the media group, including the ad firm that leaked deceptively edited content from a private training call to falsely portray Schnatter as a racist.

The Response, filed with the U.S. District Court for Western Kentucky, establishes that the defendants breached their non-disclosure agreement with Mr. Schnatter, damaging his reputation, and have insufficient evidence for the grant of summary judgment.

"I was personally maligned and had my reputation seriously damaged when the defendants set me up in a secretly recorded private coaching session, which was deceptively edited and leaked to the press knowing full well the devastation it would cause our company brand and me," said Schnatter. "If that weren't enough, to this day the defendants continue their attacks against my character through this litigation in an obvious and desperate attempt to distract from the facts of the case at hand."

According to the Response, the defendants "have confused the summary judgment standard with their closing argument to the jury. Instead of reviewing the evidence 'in the light most favorable to the non-moving party' as required in a summary judgment motion, Defendants have instead provided a one-sided statement of the 'facts' and have omitted critical facts."

The document further states that there is "ample evidence for a jury to find that Defendants knew they had a duty to not divulge statements made in a confidential media training session… [but] chose to disclose that confidential information knowing the harm it would cause Schnatter."

Mr. Schnatter has previously indicated that all net proceeds from the lawsuit against Wasserman Media will be donated to charity.

Reference: Civil Action No. 3:20-cv-00003-BJB-CHL

To learn more about John H. Schnatter vs. 247 Group, LLC d/b/a Laundry Service and Wasserman Media Group, LLC, go to: https://papajohnschnatter.com/schnatter-v-wasserman-media/

SOURCE John Schnatter