The former head of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Gov. Kay Ivey, alleging that Ivey’s decision to terminate him violated his constitutional rights.
Kent Davis, who led ADVA for three years and had a long and distinguished military career, was fired by Ivey in October, following a protracted public spat with the governor. Davis’ firing came after the Veterans Affairs board, of which Ivey was a member and which had the authority at the time to hire and remove the director, refused to terminate him.
Davis’ lawsuit claims that action both exceeded the governor’s powers and also was a direct violation of Davis’ rights.
“Ivey was acting outside her discretionary authority when she intentionally, maliciously, and willfully retaliated against (Davis) for his clearly established constitutionally protected speech under the First Amendment, including terminating him from his position as Commissioner of the ADVA,” the lawsuit alleges.
In response, Ivey’s office said the governor was unconcerned.
“We are extremely confident that Governor Ivey’s necessary actions will stand any court test there may be,” Ivey’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Davis’ protected speech came in the form of an ethics complaint, the lawsuit states, which he filed in July. That complaint, which later became public and sparked the spat with Ivey, alleged that the head of the Alabama Department of Mental Health had acted inappropriately in regards to the handling of funds that were to be allocated by the legislature.
That complaint was ultimately investigated and dismissed by the Alabama Ethics Commission, but when it was leaked to the media, Ivey took action. She first was publicly critical of the complaint, then she replaced an ADVA board member who played a role in it and requested that Davis resign.
However, in her request for his resignation, which Ivey made public, she didn’t include the filing of an ethics complaint as a cause. Instead, she accused Davis of mishandling American Rescue Plan Act funds – an allegation the ADVA board would investigate and find meritless.
Still, Davis reached an agreement with Ivey and announced his intention to resign. Before that could happen, however, the ADVA board introduced a resolution asking that Davis retract his resignation and remain as commissioner.
In response, Ivey asked the board to remove Davis immediately. In a list of causes included in that request, Ivey noted that Davis had filed an ethics complaint against another agency head. The governor also held a special-called meeting of the ADVA board in order to remove Davis.
The board again rebuffed Ivey, voting to keep Davis in place. Minutes after the meeting, though, Ivey fired Davis, citing her “supreme executive power” as governor and stating that she was taking the action to ensure state laws were followed.
Davis’ lawsuit, which was filed by Montgomery attorney Kenny Mendelsohn, who is no stranger to politically motivated legal fights, claims Ivey’s actions violated both his right to free speech and his right to due process. In fact, the only valid cause of action – the alleged mishandling of ARPA funds – was proven by the ADVA board’s investigation to be unfounded, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit asks that Davis be reappointed to his position, provided compensation for back pay and lost wages and be granted relief for mental anguish, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
