Former Chicago Cubs star Ben Zobrist has suddenly dropped the $6 million lawsuit he filed against a married pastor who had an affair with Zobrist's wife of 14 years.
Ben was seeking damages against Byron Yawn for 'intentional infliction of emotional distress' caused by the affair with Julianna Zobrist, as well as alleging that Yawn had defrauded his charity.
According to court documents filed in Nashville Circuit Court on Thursday, Ben and his lawyers withdrew the claim, but they are free to refile the lawsuit within a year.
The notice did not list a reason why Ben decided to drop the case.
Ben Zobrist, left, pictured with his wife Julianna, dropped his $6 million lawsuit against Pastor Bryon Yawn on Thursday. Zobrist alleged that Yawn knowingly inflicted emotion distress when the married pastor had an affair with Julianna in 2018
Julianna, a mom-of-three Christian singer, admitted in court records that she 'crossed a line' with her relationship with Yawn. Yawn's attorney said she and the pastor are now a couple
'It's a step in the right direction,' Yawn's attorney, Christopher Bellamy, told the Chicago Tribune.
'I'm suspicious for their reasons but I'm optimistic that he'll continue to do the right things.'
Yawn's attorney had filed a motion to dismiss the case last month, denying that the pastor committed fraud as executive director of the Patriot Forward charity in 2019, and that Ben was attempting to blame Yawn for his marital problems.
He added that Yawn and Julianna now consider themselves a couple.
The Zobrists' divorce trial began on Monday in Tennessee.
In court filings obtained by the Tribune, Ben claimed the 'genesis' of the unraveling of his marriage was the retirement party that his wife, a Christian singer, organized in December 2018 for Yawn, who was stepping away from his role as elder of Community Bible Church in Nashville.
'The one-night party cost almost $30,000 and was conducted at the Zobrist farm,' according to the documents.
Julianna allegedly paid for the lavish soiree out of the 'farm account' that her husband usually did not check.
Ben and Julianna both filed for divorce in May 2019 after 14 years of marriage
Julianna was said to have told Ben in 2018 that she was having 'new thoughts' about their religious beliefs. The pair are pictured together in 2016
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ShareDuring the celebration, Julianna and Pastor Yawn both got drunk and were described in the filings as 'dancing "on" each other in a provocative way that was very embarrassing to Ben Zobrist, especially in front of their close church friends.'
The dad-of-three baseball player privately rebuked his wife for her conduct, to which Julianna was said to have taken 'umbrage.'
Prior to the party, Ben stated in court documents that his wife told him she had 'new thoughts and opinions that differed from some of their religious background and family beliefs.'
In her own court filing, Julianna said she 'began questioning some of her religious beliefs,' and reached out to Yawn to seek 'solace in his support.' As time passed, their relationship turned romantic.
During a deposition, Julianna testified that her relationship with the married pastor 'crossed the line' in September 2018.
Ben and Julianna filed for legal separation and divorce, respectively, in May 2019, but then decided to try marriage counseling.
Ben took a leave from the Cubs after learning of Julianna's affair with Yawn from the pastor's then-wife, Robin.
Ben allegedly learned of his the affair from Yawn's own wife, Robin (pictured with the pastor)
Julianna promised Ben she would stop talking to the pastor while they were in counseling
At the time, Zobrist was confiding in Yawn that his marriage was crumbling in a series of texts included in the lawsuit. The baseball star told his pastor that Julianna had consulted a divorce lawyer, according to the lawsuit
During that time, Ben claimed that his wife continued communicating with Yawn 'despite her promises to the contrary' using a burning phone.
Julianna admitted to buying a disposable phone in June 2019 to keep in touch with the pastor, and then throwing away the device in an alleged attempt to conceal evidence of the affair.
Julianna now is demanding Ben pay her $4million as part of their divorce settlement because she claims he gave up his career and lost out on his contract after her affair with Yawn.
Julianna is claiming in pretrial court documents, obtained by the Chicago Tribune, that Zobrist was 'guilty of failing to preserve marital assets' when he stepped away from the team.
As a result of his leave of absence, Zobrist only played two months of the 2019 season and earned a prorated $4.5million of his $12million contract, according to the court filings.
Julianna accused the 2016 World Series MVP 'basically giving up' and losing out on income when he 'intentionally and voluntarily' took leave.
Juliana, who shares three children with her husband, is claiming Zobrist was 'guilty of failing to preserve marital assets' when he stepped away from the team in May 2019
She is seeking a 50-50 split of their marital assets and the additional $4million, which she claims is the 'amount of money he failed to preserve by abruptly and intentionally failing to satisfy his baseball contract'.
Ben's attorney slammed the claim as 'utterly absurd' and accused Julianna of trying to shift the blame after she admitted to having the affair with their pastor.
Ben, who is seeking a 60-40 split of their assets, has accused his wife over overspending from the marital estate by $690,000.
In the divorce proceedings, Zobrist is seeking shared custody of their three children. Julianna, however, is after full custody.
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