Celebration Church

Stovall and Kerri Weems have settled a lawsuit by a bank that argued the couple owed more than $700,000 on loans opened by businesses they ran.

A judge has dismissed a defamation suit filed by former Pastor Stovall Weems and his wife, Kerri.

Stovall and Kerri Weems have refused to leave or pay rent since Stovall Weems resigned from the megachurch April 15, the suit says.

The report said the Jacksonville minister, who was suspended by the megachurch’s trustees in January, “brought Celebration to the brink of insolvency."

Stovall Weems said a legal dispute with church trustees left him no choice but to leave and continue his ministry elsewhere."