'The Notebook' Author Nicholas Sparks Faces Defamation Lawsuit

NEW BERN, NC — This week, Nicholas Sparks — one of North Carolina’s most famous writers — is in court, facing accusations of defamation made by a former headmaster of the private Christian school founded by “The Notebook,” and “A Walk To Remember” author.

In the lawsuit, Saul Hillel Benjamin accuses Sparks of defaming him to a job recruiter and parents of The Epiphany School of Global Studies by saying he suffered a mental illness after he voiced concerns about the lack of racial diversity and the bullying of gay students at the school, WRAL reported.

The private school, located in New Bern, North Carolina, was launched in 2006, by Sparks and his wife, Catherine Sparks, according to its website, which describes the program as “an independent school with a high calling, providing a globally focused education along with character development in a learning community for K-12 students.”

Benjamin was hired in 2013 as headmaster for the school but was out of the position in less than 100 days after he clashed with Sparks and other school officials over issues regarding the lack of student diversity, student sexual orientation and bullying, according to the Daily Beast. He filed a lawsuit against Sparks the school’s Board of Trustees in late 2014, claiming discrimination, breach of contract, defamation and emotional distress.

Sparks, however, testified that school officials received 13 grievances against Benjamin and that he had damaged the school’s reputation by calling school constiuents bigoted and racist, WRAL said. "There was more than enough evidence to terminate him for cause,” Sparks told the jury.

The case began Aug. 14 in Raleigh and is expected to last a week.