Papa John’s Founder John Schnatter Sues Papa John’s

John Schnatter is suing Papa John’s after he was ousted earlier this month for using a racial slur during a conference call. Schnatter claims he was forced out because of “inaccurate and potentially defamatory” reporting of a conference call.

Schnatter filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court Thursday, reports CNNMoney. According to his attorneys, Schnatter wants to see company documents “because of the unexplained and heavy-handed way in which the company has treated him since the publication of a story that falsely accused him of using a racial slur.”

“Instead of standing behind the founder and working with news media to explain what actually occurred, the Company followed its usual, and flawed, manner of dealing with false and mistaken reporting as to comments made by Mr. Schnatter,” the lawsuit reads, reports CNBC.

Schantter also suspects the board “either the purportedly independent directors acted without adequate information … or [they] planned this coup in advance.”

According to the lawsuit, Schnatter believes the company is scapegoating Schnatter for its recent “shortcomings and failures.”

Papa John’s spokesman Peter Collins told CNBC that Schnatter will be provided the documents he is “entitled to as a director.”

“We will not let his numerous misstatements in the complaint and elsewhere distract us from the important work we are doing to move the business forward for our 120,000 corporate and franchise team members, and our franchisees, customers and stakeholders,” Collins said.

Back on July 11, Forbes reported that Schnatter used the n-word during a conference call between company executives and a marketing agency. During the call, Schnatter complained that KFC’s Colonel Sanders could talk that way and did not face public criticism. Schnatter admitted to making the reported comments and quickly resigned as chairman.

“News reports attributing the use of inappropriate and hurtful language to me during a media training session regarding race are true,” Schattner said on July 11. “Regardless of the context, I apologize. Simply stated, racism has no place in our society.”

But Schnatter has since regretted his decision. In an interview with Louisville’s WLKY, he said the call was taken out of context.

“It was a social strategy and media planning and training and I repeated something that somebody else said and said, ‘We’re not going to say that. We don’t use that kind of language or vocabulary,’” Schnatter said.

Although Schnatter resigned as chairman, he is still a director on the board, with ownership of 29 percent of the company’s stock. In a letter to the other stockholders, he said it was a “mistake” to force him out as chairman without an internal investigation.

“I will not allow either my good name or the good name of the company I founded and love to be unfairly tainted,” Schnatter wrote.

Schnatter previously stepped down as CEO in December after he suggested NFL players’ protests of police brutality during the National Anthem before games was linked to the company’s declining sales. The NFL dropped Papa John’s as a corporate sponsor in March.

Since Schnatter stepped down as CEO and chairman, Papa John’s has erased Schnatter from its website and advertisements. They also evicted him from his office in their Louisville headquarters.

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