Ex-Ford exec sues Louisville mayor over comments

A former Ford Motor official has filed a lawsuit alleging the mayor of Louisville, Ky., and a college president of making defamatory statements that cost him his job.

Jay Morgan, described in the lawsuit as a former director of government affairs for Ford, claims he was fired after Mayor Greg Fischer and Simmons College President Kevin Cosby told company officials he had promised them Ford would pay for an advanced manufacturing training center to be built in Louisville.

Morgan denies making such promises and alleges Fischer and Cosby made the statements to get him removed from the project so they could build the training facility in eastern Louisville instead of western Louisville. Morgan is asking for an unspecified amount of damages.

"These are serious allegations," said Shane Sidebottom, Morgan's attorney. "If we did not believe we could bring forward witnesses and documents to prove that, we would not bring it forward."

Both Fischer and Cosby have denied the accusations.

"These allegations against me and Rev. Cosby are outrageous," Fischer said in a written statement. "My team worked hundreds of hours trying to land a significant federal grant to support worker training in Louisville. In fact, JCTC (Jefferson Community and Technical College) and Simmons College submitted a joint application, which was unsuccessful with the U.S. Department of Labor."

Cosby, who is also pastor of St. Stephen Church on South 15th Street and an outspoken advocate for western Louisville, said he had not seen the lawsuit and was advised by his attorney not to comment on pending litigation.

Nevertheless, he said the accusations are "categorically untrue. It's baseless. It's erroneous."

Morgan was sent to Louisville in October 2012 to advocate for the training facility, according to the lawsuit.