TUSCALOOSA, Ala.–The CEO of Alabama One Credit Union has filed a lawsuit against a member of the credit union, alleging he has been libeled.
AOCU CEO John Dee Carruth filed a civil suit against Kenneth Walters in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court. The suit alleges Walters defamed Carruth by accusing him of engaging in criminal conduct in posts on Walters' Facebook page and allowing others to post defamatory comments on the site, as well, according to the Tuscaloosa News.
The Tuscaloosa News reported that Carruth's attorney, Barry V. Frederick, sent Walters a letter on June 16 demanding a retraction and the removal the defamatory posts. Such letters are typically a preface to filing of libel suits.
A phone message left for Walters requesting comment was not readily returned on Thursday. The Tuscaloosa News reported that Walters apologized to Carruth after receiving the letter, but that Walters has not “published anything the law recognizes as a retraction."
Carruth is seeking compensatory damages of $25,000 and punitive damages of $75,000.
The $175-million Alabama One has remained in the news in Alabama for the past several years as the result of business loans that went sour in a high-profile case involving former developer Danny Ray Butler, who pleaded guilty to check kiting and defrauding various lenders out of more than $3 million, and who is now serving time.
Carruth and the credit union have filed a potentially explosive lawsuit that involves a number of high-ranking elected officials in Alabama, including the state regulator, alleging it was pressured to pay out on lawsuits stemming from losses related to Butler that involved some of those high-ranking and politically connected individuals.
The full story on that lawsuit can be found here.