A federal judge has ordered Kent Davis to explain why his lawsuit against Gov. Kay Ivey should not be thrown out — a ruling that leaves the former Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs commissioner with one narrow avenue and a deadline of Sept. 17.
The order, issued Thursday by Middle District of Alabama Judge Bill Lewis, arrived more than a year after Ivey’s attorneys moved to dismiss.
The Underlying Claim
Davis sued Ivey after she fired him from his post as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs in October 2024. His lawsuit accuses the governor of knowingly violating his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Ivey’s privately retained legal team from Maynard Nexsen PC argued in August 2025 that the case should be dismissed. They contended she had the legal authority to remove Davis, whom they described as “obstructionist” and “recalcitrant,” and that she is protected by sovereign and qualified immunity.
Where the Judge Sided With Ivey
Lewis mainly agreed with the governor.
His order states that Davis’s claim that Ivey retaliated against him for filing an ethics complaint against Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Kim Boswell should be dismissed, along with Davis’s request to be restored to his former job.
On damages, the order is blunt.
“The defendant is correct that all of the plaintiff’s claims are barred by sovereign immunity to the extent they seek to obtain monetary damages from the defendant in her official capacity as the governor of Alabama,” Lewis wrote.
Sovereign immunity generally bars suits for money damages against state officials acting in their official capacities. It is among the most difficult obstacles in litigation against a sitting governor.
The One Question Left Open
Lewis gave Davis until Thursday, Sept. 17, to respond to case law on a specific point — whether a biased decision-maker at a pre-termination hearing can be remedied afterward.
Davis was removed during a special-called meeting of the state’s veterans affairs board.
“The plaintiff’s claim, however, is that the due process he was afforded at the hearing was insufficient because the defendant had already decided to terminate him or planned to do so regardless of the outcome of the hearing, and because his subsequent termination overrode the board’s decision not to terminate him,” the order reads.
That sentence contains the heart of the dispute. The board voted not to terminate Davis. He was terminated anyway.
Lewis continued: “The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that a biased decisionmaker at a pre-termination hearing creates a deprivation of procedural due process, but that such a deprivation can be cured by a post-deprivation hearing at which the employee may present evidence of the bias.”
Why That Matters
The logic is that a flawed hearing is not automatically a constitutional violation if a fair hearing is still available somewhere. If state courts can provide that hearing, the federal claim may not survive.
Lewis concluded they can.
“Alabama courts have the power to review employment termination cases. Inherent in that power to review is the power to remedy deficiencies and to cure violations of due process,” the order reads. “Therefore, the Alabama courts have the authority to order the relief to which the plaintiff claims to be entitled — a new hearing conducted by a fair tribunal.”
Under that reasoning, Davis’s remedy lies in state court, not federal court.
What Davis Knew, and When
Lewis drew a distinction in the order about Davis’s advance knowledge.
Davis knew Ivey planned to remove him, the judge wrote, because of letters she sent requesting his resignation and informing him of the upcoming termination hearing.
What Davis did not know was that Ivey would ultimately overrule the veterans affairs board’s vote and fire him regardless.
That distinction is the thread Davis’s remaining argument hangs on.
The Deadline
Davis has until Sept. 17 to show why the case should not be dismissed.
The order does not end the lawsuit. It narrows it to a single question and puts the burden on Davis to answer it.