Church files lawsuit against Fayette County Board of Education

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A prominent church in Lexington has filed a lawsuit against the Fayette County Board of Education.

Imani Baptist Church says they lost their building when the district pulled out of a promise to lease it.

Attorneys for Imani Baptist are calling this a modern-day land grab. They want the district to pay for backing out of a promise.

“But for the fact that it is clearly civil, it borders on criminality,” said attorney Aubrey Williams.

Court documents show that back in 2017, the district reached out to Imani with plans to lease their building. They wanted the space for a STEM Program and a drop out prevention program.

The church had already defaulted on loans on the building and was in the process of meditation when this offer came up.

“We have a letter from the state board of education saying that the property was appropriate, proper, satisfied every detail for them to acquire the property," Williams said. "Mind you now, initially, and what my client Imani was doing, they were working on a contract for the school board to lease the facility.”

Attorneys for Imani say when the school board failed to agree to the lease, the church lost the building.

“And then all of the sudden, the deal caves through, the other party steps in, that party being Central Bank, steps in, buys the property at auction, and then flips it to FCPS," Williams said. "Clearly a classic case of a modern-day land grab.”

Fayette County Public Schools leaders did give us a brief statement saying, “we cannot comment on pending litigation.”

The church is requesting compensatory damages and legal costs.

Read the church’s complaint:

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