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NEW YORK, NY (CNN) — John Schnatter, the ousted founder of pizza chain Papa John's, is suing his former company.
In a lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday, Schnatter's lawyers say he is seeking to inspect 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."
Schnatter has admitted he said the N-word on a conference call with a marketing firm, but he's denied he meant it to intend harm.
The company asked him to resign from his chairmanship of its board, which he did, though he remains on the board as a director. He owns 29 percent of Papa John's stock.
