Lawyers for Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit against her filed recently by Kent Davis, the former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Ivey terminated.
The motion was filed in U.S. District Court by attorneys from Maynard Nexsen, the firm hired recently to defend Ivey against the lawsuit.
“After a long series of actions and statements by Plaintiff that, by his own account, seriously and self-evidently undermined the orderly functioning of state government, the Governor terminated Plaintiff from his position as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (the “Department”),” the filing says. “In response, Plaintiff has run to federal court and lodged a bevy of federal and state-law claims in hopes of returning to power and collecting from the State’s coffers.
“… Plaintiff is frustrated that he is no longer Commissioner of the Department. But frustration with the Governor’s decision to terminate a State executive-branch official who repeatedly undermined State functions does not create federal jurisdiction or give rise to a cause of action of any vintage.”
The June lawsuit, filed against Ivey in both her official and personal capacities, claims that Davis’ termination constituted a violation of his constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth amendments, as well as state ethics law pertaining to whistleblowers. The relief sought as outlined in the lawsuit includes either reinstatement or front pay, back pay, and both punitive and “mental anguish” damages.
“Ivey’s conduct in terminating Davis was contrary to law and beyond any discretionary authority vested in her as governor and violated Davis’ clearly established rights afforded to him by the United States Constitution and Alabama law,” the lawsuit reads, filed in federal court on Wednesday.
Ivey cited her office’s “supreme executive power of the state” when she dismissed Davis last fall after a monthslong public saga kicked off when Davis filed an ethics complaint against a fellow state agency leader.
In her call for Davis’ resignation alleged that under his leadership, the ADVA had “mishandled” federal grant money from the American Rescue Plan Act. Davis denied the allegation.