Bob Brooks, the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Lehigh Valley, has settled a lawsuit with his ex-mother-in law that had become campaign fodder for his opponent, Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie.
According to a document filed in Northampton County Court on Sept. 10, Brooks and Carol Wiley, his ex-mother-in-law, agreed to settle the lawsuit with “costs paid” and “dismissed with prejudice,” meaning the case cannot be re-tried in court.
“This old family dispute has officially been resolved by an agreement between the two parties,” Brooks’ lawyer, Ryan Moore, said in a statement to The Morning Call. “Bob is glad that this personal matter was resolved amicably and is now behind him and his family. Out of respect for everyone involved, we won’t be commenting further.”
The lawsuit stemmed from a dispute over a loan issued to Brooks and his ex-wife, Jennifer Lynn Brooks, by his former in-laws, Michael and Carol Wiley.
According to court documents, Brooks and his ex-wife borrowed $55,000 in 2007 to finance the subdivision of a Moore Township property . The couple signed a promissory note in 2008 in which they agreed to pay back the $55,000 debt.
In 2017, Bob and Jennifer Lynn divorced. As part of the divorce agreement, Bob received ownership of the property, but a deed was never signed to transfer ownership, so both Bob and his ex-wife remained co-owners, according to legal records.
In 2018, Carol Wiley sued her daughter, Jennifer Lynn, and former son-in-law, claiming that the two failed to pay back that $55,000 debt. The Pennsylvania Superior Court sided with Wiley and ordered Brooks to pay Wiley back $130,000 in 2020.
However, that debt remained unpaid following the court order, Wiley alleged.
In a February 2026 lawsuit, Wiley accused Brooks of deliberate “subterfuge” to avoid paying the court-ordered debt, which she said occurred in 2022 when Brooks transferred sole ownership of the property to his second wife, Jennifer Lynne Brooks.
Wiley’s lawyers accuse Brooks of deliberately obscuring the identity of his second wife, due to the similarity of her first and middle name with his ex-wife, in order to avoid paying the debt he owed.
In court documents, Brooks argued that the promissory note was legally invalid and subject to a statute of limitations that made the debt no longer legally enforceable.
The exact terms of the settlement between the two parties was not disclosed.
The lawsuit became a frequent point of attack for Mackenzie, who is running for re-election in Pennsylvania’s 7th District. At the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Thursday afternoon, Mackenzie called Brooks a “nutjob” and accused him of stealing from and defrauding family members.
In a statement, Mackenzie campaign manager Andres Weller said that Brooks should disclose the full terms of the settlement to the public.
“For his own selfish interests, Bob Brooks is desperately hoping this issue will now go away, but until the full details of this ‘agreement’ are released to the public — including who paid off the debt, what were the terms of the agreement, and if all parties are now allowed to speak openly — this issue remains unresolved with voters,” he said.
Brooks has publicly defended himself against the accusations. At an April event, Brooks called the lawsuit a “joke” and noted his ex-wife supported him in both his lawsuit and campaign.
The 7th Congressional District is considered a “toss up” by Cook Political Report, and one of the handful of House elections that will determine which party takes control of the chamber in 2027. It includes all of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties and part of Monroe County.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.