Spanier Alludes to Other Potential Defendants in Freeh Defamation Lawsuit

UPDATED 11 a.m. Sept. 17

Former Penn State President Graham Spanier may sue other parties as a result of the allegations he covered up a child sexual child abuse scandal, according to a document his attorney filed in court last week.

And the judge in the case has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 14 in Scranton.

Spanier announced his intent to sue Louis Freeh for defamation more than a year ago, after the former FBI director released an independent report on the university’s handling of the scandal. In the report, Freeh said Spanier was part of a conspiracy to cover up child sexual abuse allegations related to former football coach Jerry Sandusky, who is now a convicted pedophile.

Freeh requested the lawsuit be moved from Centre County Common Pleas Court to federal court. Previously, Freeh’s attorneys argued the case should be heard in federal court because Freeh and members of his firm, Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP, are not residents of Pennsylvania.

In a filing Friday, Spanier’s attorney Elizabeth Ainslie argues the case should be pursued in county court, in part because there are other potential defendants for the case, which would warrant the case remaining in Centre County.

“Dr. Spanier, in fact, has legal claims against other non-diverse parties that arise out of the same operative facts that give rise to the claims for defamation,” Ainslie writes.

In August, U.S. Middle District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion ordered Freeh to show cause as to why the defamation lawsuit should be moved to federal court. Mannion said Freeh’s notice of removal is “insufficient.”

“Here, defendants have not affirmatively plead the citizenship of the members of Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP, or explained their relationship to Pepper Hamilton LLP (the successor to Freeh’s original law firm). Defendants’ allegations are thus not sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of this court,” says Mannion.

In February, at Spanier’s request, a Centre County judge granted a stay in this lawsuit due to Spanier’s pending criminal trial. Freeh appealed that decision to Pennsylvania’s Superior Court, which ruled it lacked jurisdiction.

In 2012, a jury found Sandusky guilty of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and a judge sentenced him to 30 to 60 years in state prison.

Spanier and two other former Penn State administrators face charges of perjury and failure to report abuse. All three men have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Freeh, 64, recently suffered serious injuries in a car crash in Vermont. Authorities say Freeh’s SUV went off the roadway and hit a mailbox and row of shrubs before coming to rest next to the tree. Police say Freeh was wearing his seat belt.

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