The attorney representing former parks and recreation director Justin Huss in his lawsuit against the city filed an amended complaint last month in Carroll County Circuit Court.
Attorney Tim Parker of Eureka Springs filed the amended complaint on Sept. 29, citing the testimony of parks commission chair Ruth Hager during a deposition taken July 10.
Hager is named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with Mayor Butch Berry, the parks commission and the city.
Hager notified Huss via text message on Oct. 9, 2020, that he was being fired as director of the city’s parks and recreation department. The text message was sent two days after the parks commission held a special meeting at which Hager announced that commissioners would be going into executive session “to discuss a personnel issue.”
The commission returned to public session 59 minutes later. Hager asked if there were any motions and none were offered. After a motion to adjourn, the meeting ended without any further discussion.
In her deposition, Hager testified that no action was taken because no decision was made during the executive session.
“That’s not when it was decided to fire him,” she said.
Hager said she had the authority as chair to terminate Huss.
“According to the policies it does not require the votes of the other commissioners to fire the director,” she said.
Title 12, section 12.04.03 of the Eureka Springs city code — the section that outlines “powers” of the parks and recreation commission — states that “(t) he Commissioners may employ or remove managers, janitors or other employees of any nature, kind or character, and may fix, regulate and pay their salaries. The terms, conditions and benefits of employment and rights of any such employees shall be in accordance with those afforded to employees of the city.”
Hager testified during the deposition that as chair, she had the authority to fire Huss without the approval of the other commissioners.
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act states that “(n)o resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation or motion considered or arrived at in executive session will be legal unless, following the executive session, the public body reconvenes in public session and presents and votes on the resolution, ordinance, rule, contract, regulation or motion.”
“Who decided you didn’t need a public vote?” Parker asked Hager during the July deposition.
“We all did,” Hager said. “Because we made no decision. We didn’t need a public vote because there was no decision made. I was going to make the decision as chair, which I knew I could, after we left the meeting.”
In his amended complaint, Parker contends that Hager’s actions and those of the parks commission violated both state and municipal code.
“Simply put, Justin Huss was illegally fired in violation of the law,” the amended complaint says. “Accordingly, these attempts to fire him are without legal effect and are accordingly null and void.”
The amended complaint seeks $450,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages along with court costs and attorney’s fees and asks for a jury trial.
