Court Opinion

ID: 7826980
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-07 18:09:29.843898+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:30:53.472113
License: Public Domain

Robert L. Brown, Justice, dissenting. The majority affirms summary judgment in favor of former Speaker of the House Bobby Hogue. In doing so, the majority concludes that there are no issues of fact presented by the plaintiffs’ complaint, and, as a result, judgment should be summarily entered in favor of Hogue. Because I believe there are issues of fact raised in this case that cannot be disposed of by an abbreviated procedure, I dissent. The affidavits filed by the ASU officials present the first issue of fact: who made the first overture about a job at the university for Hogue? The trial court found that ASU approached Hogue about development work for the athletic department. That finding, however, overlooks the fact that it was Hogue who initially raised the issue of a potential job at ASU with President J. Leslie Wyatt. After the General Assembly convened in 1997, Dr. Wyatt describes in his affidavit what occurred in that conversation: In a casual conversation with Bobby Hogue over lunch in early February, Mr. Hogue mentioned that he would be leaving the legislature after this session due to term limits and that he would like for us to keep him in mind if any positions became open at ASU. In [a] later conversation with Barry Dowd, I mentioned Mr. Hogue’s comment about possibly working for ASU and asked Mr. Dowd if Mr. Hogue would be a good candidate for the Assistant Athletic Director for Development position we intended to establish. I was aware that other state supported universities had employees serving in the legislature and knew of no prohibition to the hiring of a member of the legislature to a position at ASU. Mr. Dowd and Mr. Hogue later met and Mr. Dowd reported to me that he believed Mr. Hogue would be an excellent choice to serve as Assistant Athletic Director for Development. Mr. Hogue was ultimately hired on February 22, 1997. ASU Athletic Director Barry Dowd confirmed those events in his own affidavit: During the legislative session of 1997, Dr. Wyatt telephoned me to tell me that in a casual conversation with Bobby Hogue over lunch, Mr. Hogue mentioned that he would be leaving the legislature after this session due to term limits and that he would like for us to keep him in mind if any positions became open at ASU. He asked me whether I believed Mr. Hogue would be a good candidate for the Assistant Athletic Director for Development position we intended to establish. I did not know Bobby Hogue but arranged a meeting with him to discuss whether he would be interested in working in athletic development. After the interview, I reported to Dr. Wyatt that I believed Mr. Hogue would be an excellent choice to serve as Assistant Athletic Director for Development. I offered the position to Mr. Hogue and while he was considering the offer inquired of another candidate, Barry Sellers, if he would take the position if the person currently under consideration declined. Mr. Hogue accepted the job and we announced his employment at a press conference on February 22, 1997. Fayeth Williams Hurt was hired to work with existing supporters. The two affidavits make it clear that Hogue first broached the subject about a job to Dr. Wyatt “in early February” and was hired as Assistant Athletic Director for Development within a matter of weeks on February 22, 1997. To state the obvious, this all took place during the legislative session when Hogue was Speaker of the House and when ASU’s budget for the next biennium, which included the Assistant Athletic Director position, as well as various capital improvement projects in separate bills were pending before the General Assembly. The majority makes much of the fact that Hogue did not vote on Act 688, which is the ASU appropriation. But I do not believe that fact alone decides the issue. Hogue was hired for the position of Assistant Athletic Director on February 22, and this fact was publicized by ASU the following day. Act 688 appropriated funds for all positions at ASU from the president on down and in some cases provided major salary increases for positions like the football and basketball coaches. It also provided that the newly created position of Assistant Athletic Director would pay $71,000 in 1997-98 and $73,000 in 1998-99. The bill which became Act 688 made its way through the Senate and House in February and March of 1997. It was common knowledge that the bill created a new position for the Speaker of the House. In fact, House Resolution 1027 was passed by House members on March 10, 1997, congratulating Hogue on his new position. On March 19, 1997, Act 688 was signed into law by the Governor. It strains credulity to argue that the inclusion of a new position with a significant salary for the Speaker of the House of Representatives did not bolster the chances of the appropriation’s passage. I cannot say categorically that ASU did not benefit from Hogue’s agreement to accept this position which was well publicized before ASU’s appropriation was signed into law. In addition, Hogue co-sponsored three pieces of legislation at this session, which involved multi-million dollar capital projects for ASU. Under different circumstances, this would fall under the heading of effective legislation for a constituent, but in the glare of the new job, there is the appearance of a quid pro quo from the Speaker. At least, this series of events creates an issue that should be developed at trial. Next, the majority maintains that this matter is moot because Act 34 of 1999 subsequently made it a felony for a state representative to be employed by any state agency during that representative’s term of office. Act 34 became effective on February 9, 1999. The majority’s conclusion, however, gives short shrift to the plaintiffs’ illegal exaction suit for the salary received by Hogue between April 21, 1997, and June 30, 1998. Clearly, Act 34 had no effect on the claim for the salary received before the effective date of the Act. The majority goes on, though, and maintains that even assuming Hogue served illegally as Assistant Athletic Director, he earned his salary in full as a fundraiser and coordinator of legislative events and, thus, should not be required to reimburse the State. I do not agree that we can reach that conclusion by summary judgment. Our caselaw is clear, and the majority acknowledges this, that the principle of quantum meruit only comes into play when the public employee serving illegally is doing so in good faith. See Beshear v. Ripling, 292 Ark. 79, 728 S.W.2d 170 (1987); Martindale v. Honey, 261 Ark. 708, 551 S.W.2d 202 (1977); Revis v. Harris, 219 Ark. 586, 243 S.W.2d 747 (1951); Gantt v. Ark. Power & Light Co. 189 Ark. 449, 74 S.W.2d 232 (1939). Here, the underlying issue of fact is whether Hogue was operating in good faith when he made the first overture to ASU’s president about a job when that overture occurred during the legislative session. The pertinent Ethics Statute reads in part: “No public official or state employee shall use his position to secure special privileges . . . Ark. Code Ann. § 21-8-304(a) (Repl. 1996). If Hogue violated that statute by using his position to obtain a state job, it is difficult for me to see how he can jump through the hoop of good faith. In any case, this issue should be decided by trial and not by summary judgment. I do agree with the majority that there is no basis for the plaintiffs’ claims that Hogue was appointed to “a civil office” or that he was working for two state agencies. But I am convinced that an issue of fact has been raised by the affidavits submitted on behalf of Hogue concerning whether he used his position for private gain under § 21-8-304(a). I would reverse and remand for trial, and for that I reason, I respectfully dissent. Imber. and Smith, JJ., join.