After 17 years at the helm of Truett McConnell University, former president Emir Caner is taking his old employer to court in Cleveland, Georgia, arguing that trustees had no right to shove him out of the top job.
Caner has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in White County Superior Court, claiming the university cut short a 10-year employment agreement when the board voted to remove him in September 2025. The complaint asks a judge to award damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief, and says trustees lacked any contractual basis for what his attorneys describe as an unlawful termination.
According to CBS News Atlanta, the suit, filed June 5, says Caner signed a contract extension in 2021 that was set to run through June 30, 2031. The deal guaranteed him a base salary of more than $272,000, along with housing and other benefits. The filing alleges that trustees first placed him on administrative leave in June 2025 after public reporting, then later voted to end his employment outright. Caner is seeking back pay, benefits and litigation costs tied to what he calls an early and unjustified termination.
The showdown traces back to a tense trustee meeting on September 25, 2025, when the board, acting on the results of an outside investigation, voted 19-10 to terminate Caner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. That decision capped months of campus unrest, alumni protests and mounting scrutiny over how Truett McConnell leaders handled sexual-misconduct complaints. University officials have so far declined to release the full investigative report that guided the board’s move.
Allegations At The Center Of The Dispute
The controversy erupted publicly in May 2025, when former student and staffer Hayle Swinson gave an hourlong interview alleging she was groomed and sexually abused by then-vice president Bradley Reynolds, as detailed by The Roys Report. According to Caner’s complaint, he first learned in 2024 that Reynolds was under investigation. The suit says he responded by firing Reynolds, consulting university counsel about a severance package and informing trustees about those steps. Caner argues that those actions complied with his contract and that the board only changed its tune after The Roys Report coverage and an ensuing independent review.
Legal Stakes And What Comes Next
Caner’s lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, lost future earnings and attorney fees, and it could end up prying loose the outside investigator’s findings if the court allows full discovery, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes. On a separate legal track, Reynolds was indicted in 2025 on counts of making false statements to law enforcement about his relationship with Swinson. That criminal case is still pending in White County.
Caner’s legal team says he was never given a chance to respond to the investigator’s conclusions before trustees voted to fire him. The university will now get its turn to answer the civil claims in court, where the behind-closed-doors drama of board meetings may be replayed under oath.
In the meantime, Truett McConnell’s interim leadership has tried to keep the focus on the school’s religious and educational mission. The university has declined to release the full investigation publicly, but its public comments have stressed continuity, with officials saying the school’s “focus, now more than ever, is on continuing the important work of preparing students for lives of faith, leadership, and service,” according to Now Habersham. Andrew Coffman, an attorney for Caner, told reporters his client was not allowed to attend the board meeting where the investigator’s conclusions were presented.
Beyond one man’s contract fight, the case could test how much internal decision-making at a small Christian university can be shielded from public scrutiny. The uproar at Truett McConnell helped spur Georgia lawmakers to tighten rules on clergy and campus-leader misconduct, culminating in a law that expands criminal liability in pastoral settings, according to OSV News. Local coverage of the complaint notes that the lawsuit is expected to unfold over months in White County Superior Court as both sides gear up for discovery and potential hearings. We will update this story as new court filings arrive.
