LOS ANGELES - (Business Wire) The Steward Board of First AME Church of Los Angeles said today that its lawsuit against former church employee Brenda Lamothe was filed early Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 3, after Ms. Lamothe demanded money from the Church and well before she publicly leveled what church leaders consider to be false and spurious accusations against Senior Pastor John J. Hunter. The lawsuit FAME, et al. v. Lamothe - LASC Case No.: LC087455 was filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles.
The Church also released a glowing resignation letter (attached) Ms. Lamothe sent to Pastor Hunter dated Sept. 10, 2008 praising and thanking him and the Church, in response to Ms. Lamothe’s claim that she was fired by Pastor Hunter on June 2, 2009, 10 months later.
Specifically, the First AME Church of Los Angeles, Senior Pastor Dr. John J. Hunter and Mrs. Denise Hunter, President and COO of the FAME Corporations, filed suit against Ms. Lamothe, alleging conversion of the Hunter’s personal property, infliction of emotional distress, intentional interference with the Hunter’s relationship with the Church and conspiracy.
The leadership of First AME Church of Los Angeles was stunned when information was revealed indicating that Ms. Lamothe had wrongfully obtained the private, personal property of Rev. Dr. John Hunter, and his wife, Denise Hunter.
Even more distressing was information indicating that Ms. Lamothe, had wrongfully obtained, among other things, Pastor and Mrs. Hunter’s private written communications to one another as husband and wife in an apparent effort to harm the Church and harass the Hunters.
Most troubling of all was information indicating Ms. Lamothe may have acted in concert with others to distribute this wrongfully obtained material in an effort to disrupt and destroy the Church’s relationship with the Hunters.
While the Church leadership and the Hunters feel compassion for someone who has fallen so far from a God-centered life, to protect the Church and its congregation, the appropriate response is to seek immediate relief in the courts in order to prevent further damage to the Church and its community.
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Tony Knight or Holly Baird
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