MONTGOMERY — Former Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis has sued Gov. Kay Ivey over his removal from office last year.
The federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday in District Court in Montgomery and cited Ivey in her official and individual capacities.
In the suit, Davis, who resigned under pressure from Ivey last year, claims Ivey “knowingly” violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights.
Related story: State Veterans Affairs commissioner resigns
According to the suit, “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.”
Davis seeks relief by either reinstatement or front pay, back pay, as well as punitive and “mental anguish” damages.
Ivey spokesperson Gina Maiola said Wednesday the governor was not concerned about the lawsuit.
“We are extremely confident that Gov. Ivey’s necessary actions will stand any court test there may be,” Maiola told Alabama Daily News.
In the suit, Davis claims Ivey did not have the jurisdiction to remove him from his position because he was “not appointed nor hired by Ivey and did not serve at Ivey’s pleasure.”
“[i]t shall be the duty of the State Board of Veterans’ Affairs to appoint a State Service Commissioner who shall serve for a term of four years subject to removal by the State Board for cause …,” the suit reads. “Thus, the Commissioner was appointed by the Board and could only be removed by the Board and only ‘for cause.'”
Davis was appointed VA commissioner Feb. 19, 2019 by the SBVA. In late 2022, the board voted and unanimously reappointed Davis to a second four-year term that began in February 2023.
“As a matter of law, Davis was not appointed nor hired by Ivey and did not serve at Ivey’s pleasure,” the suit says.
Related story: Ivey uses ‘supreme executive power’ to remove VA commissioner
The situation developed last year when Ivey formally requested Davis’s resignation, citing “ample cause” for his removal. The governor pointed to mishandling of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program as the primary factor.
According to Ivey, the ADVA had proposed uses for the ARPA funds that were ineligible under federal guidelines and jeopardized the state’s compliance with federal regulations.
Davis denied the allegation, but eventually reached an agreement with Ivey to step down by the end of 2024.
In October, after the State Board of Veterans Affairs failed to remove Davis, Ivey used the “supreme executive power of this state” to immediately remove him from his position.
In a letter hand-delivered to Davis, Ivey said she used the “supreme executive power of this state” in removing him from office.
“Today, the State Board of Veterans Affairs failed to remove you immediately despite the ample legal causes I have publicly and repeatedly identified as justifying your removal. I therefore determine that your immediate removal is necessary to ensure that, going forward, the laws governing the Department of Veterans Affairs will be properly executed and enforced.
“By copy of this letter, you are hereby removed as Commissioner for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and, pursuant to the Board’s vote at its October 10th meeting, Jeffrey L. Newton is now Interim Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. The relevant state officials, including Interim Commissioner Newton, are hereby directed to take the necessary steps to effectuate this removal.”
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