NASHVILLE (BP) – Federal Judge William Campbell has canceled the jury trial between David and Mary Sills and the Southern Baptist Convention set for Feb. 10, 2026, calling for it to be rescheduled. Campbell’s order came late Dec. 15, citing eight pending motions for summary judgment in the case.
“On or before January 15, 2026, the parties shall file a joint notice with agreed proposed trial dates in second half of 2026,” the order said.
Sills filed suit in November 2022, alleging “defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and wantonness concerning untrue claims of sexual abuse.”
Sills carried on a long-term sexual relationship with a former student, Jennifer Lyell. Lyell alleged the relationship was abusive; Sills claims it was consensual. Sills was named in a May 2022 report from Guidepost Solutions based on its investigation of alleged mishandling of sexual abuse claims by the SBC Executive Committee.
Lyell, 47, died in June, days after she suffered a stroke at her home in Tennessee.
In September, attorneys for Sills indicated they would no longer seek damages against Lyell’s estate.
Guidepost Solutions is also named as a defendant in the suit, as are Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, its president Albert Mohler, former SBC presidents Ed Litton and Bart Barber and former SBC EC representatives Willie McLaurin and Rolland Slade.
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