Ohio Valley Conference v. Randall Jones, individually and in his official capacity as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Jacksonville State University, and Don C. Killingsworth, Jr., individually and in his official capacity as President of Jacksonville State University ( 2023 )

Rel: May 19, 2023
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern
Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts,
300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other
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SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA
OCTOBER TERM, 2022-2023
_________________________
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_________________________
Ohio Valley Conference
v.
Randall Jones, individually and in his official capacity as
Chair of the Board of Trustees of Jacksonville State University,
and Don C. Killingsworth, Jr., individually and in his official
capacity as President of Jacksonville State University
Appeal from Calhoun Circuit Court
(CV-21-900312)
MENDHEIM, Justice.
The Ohio Valley Conference ("the OVC") appeals from the judgment
dismissing its official-capacity and individual-capacity claims against
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Randall Jones, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Jacksonville State
University, and Don C. Killingsworth, Jr., the President of Jacksonville
State University.1 We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
I. Facts
The OVC is a men's and women's collegiate athletic conference that
began in 1948. Since its inception, the OVC has been governed by a Board
of Presidents made up of the chancellors and presidents of the OVC's
member institutions. Jacksonville State University ("JSU") became a
member institution in 2003. The OVC Constitution contains two relevant
provisions concerning resignation of membership from the conference:
"4.5.3 Resignation of Membership. A member institution
desiring to terminate its Conference membership shall
provide written notice to the Conference president and
commissioner a minimum of two years prior to when the
member desires to cease Conference membership.
Notification must be made no later than the date of the
annual OVC Spring Meetings. The member institution
providing notice of its termination need not show cause for its
termination to be effective. A member institution providing
the requisite notice of its intention to resign from the
Conference shall pay a $750,000 exit fee plus forfeit both its
1As we will explain more fully in the rendition of the facts,
Jacksonville State University was originally designated as an appellee in
this appeal. However, on November 21, 2022, the OVC filed a "Motion for
Voluntary Dismissal of Jacksonville State University as Appellee." On
December 1, 2022, this Court granted that motion, dismissing
Jacksonville State University as an appellee.
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Conference year-end and OVC basketball pool distributions
during the final two years of OVC membership. A member
institution failing to provide the minimum two years required
written notice shall pay the Conference a sum of $1,000,000
in addition to forfeiting both its Conference year end and OVC
Basketball Pool distributions during the final year of OVC
membership. A member institution that resigns from the
Conference shall pay at least half of the required exit fee at
the time of departure from the Conference, no later than
June 30 of that year, and the remaining amount within
12-months of the initial payment, not later than June 30 of
the next year …."
"4.5.4 Effect on Pro-Rata Share. A member who resigns
or is terminated from the Conference shall forfeit its pro-rata
share of the Conference Fund Balance."2
In its complaint, the OVC alleged:
"25. Over time, OVC members, including [JSU], have
voted to amend Article 4.5.3. For example, in 2004 -- when
[JSU] was an OVC member -- the Board of Presidents voted
to increase the exit fee to $200,000. In 2011, [JSU] joined a
unanimous vote to add to Article 4.5.3 of the OVC
Constitution forfeiture of Conference distributions during the
final two years of membership. In 2013, [JSU] joined a
unanimous vote to increase the exit fee to $500,000 upon two
years' notice and $750,000 with less than two years' notice. In
2015, [JSU] joined a unanimous vote to increase the exit fee
to its current amount. In 2017, [JSU] joined a unanimous vote
2Article 4 of the OVC Constitution is attached as an exhibit to the
OVC's complaint. Under Rule 10(c), Ala. R. Civ. P., documents attached
to and referenced in the complaint become a part of the pleading. See,
e.g., Ex parte Price, 244 So. 3d 949, 955 (Ala. 2017) (noting that
"[e]xhibits attached to a pleading become part of the pleading," citing
Rule 10(c)).
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to make 50% of the exit fee due immediately upon a school's
departure.
"….
"32. On January 26, 2021, [JSU's] Board of Trustees
unanimously approved Resolution 621 authorizing President
Killingsworth 'to explore opportunities for [JSU] to join
another NCAA Division I athletic conference and if, in the
exercise of his good faith discretion, he believes a new
conference affiliation is in the best interest of [JSU], to enter
into such agreement and to take the necessary steps for [JSU]
to resign its membership in the OVC.'
"33. On February 3, 2021, [JSU] informed the OVC that
it intended to resign its OVC membership effective June 30,
2021. …
"….
"39. [JSU] did not pay the $500,000 portion of the exit
fee due on June 30, 2021. By letter dated June 29, 2021, [JSU]
stated it had no intention of paying the exit fee."
In addition to alleging that JSU had failed to pay the
conference-resignation fee described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC
Constitution, the OVC also asserted that JSU
"owes $15,000 to the OVC for tickets that the OVC provided
[JSU] for the OVC's 2021 conference championship basketball
tournament. The $15,000 payment is for a ticket buy-in that
all OVC schools owe to help support the conference
championship event, regardless of whether they have a team
in the tournament. [JSU] received $15,000 in tickets from the
OVC and had both men's and women's teams in the
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tournament. A copy of the invoice to [JSU] is attached as
Exhibit C and incorporated herein by reference."
On August 3, 2021, the OVC commenced this action in the Calhoun
Circuit Court against JSU, against Jones, individually and in his
capacity as chair of the JSU Board of Trustees, and against
Killingsworth, individually and in his capacity as president of JSU. The
OVC asserted two counts against JSU -- declaratory judgment and
breach of contract -- that focused solely on JSU's failure to pay the
conference-resignation fee described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC
Constitution. The complaint also asserted one count against JSU --
conversion -- that focused solely on the OVC's allegation that JSU had
failed to pay $15,000 for tickets received from the OVC for the OVC's
2021 conference championship basketball tournament. The complaint
also asserted two counts against JSU -- promissory estoppel and unjust
enrichment -- that incorporated both the conference-resignation fee and
the value of the tickets to the conference championship basketball
tournament as elements of damages. Finally, the OVC asserted one count
for "Injunctive Relief" against JSU, Jones, and Killingsworth that stated:
"82. Jones and Killingsworth had the responsibility to
follow established procedures for the payment of [JSU's]
contractual obligations and debts due and owing, and also to
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follow guidelines and established accounting procedures to
ensure that established obligations, such as those owed to the
OVC, were paid. Jones and Killingsworth failed to meet these
responsibilities or follow these guidelines and established
accounting procedures. These acts and omissions constitute
violations of ministerial, rather than discretionary, duties.
"83. To the extent that these acts and omissions could
conceivably have been done while Jones and Killingsworth
were exercising a discretionary function, then the act or
omission was done willfully, maliciously, intentionally, in bad
faith, beyond the authority of Jones or Killingsworth, or under
a mistaken interpretation of the law. Otherwise, the acts or
omissions complained of herein involved ministerial acts that
were improperly performed by Jones or Killingsworth, or at
their direction.
"84. The OVC seeks a writ of mandamus, injunctive
relief, or other relief to which it may be equitably entitled,
including but not limited to:
"a. The enjoinment of [JSU] from leaving the
OVC until it has fulfilled its contractual and
equitable obligations;
"b. an order compelling [JSU], Jones, and
Killingsworth to perform the ministerial duty of
causing payment to issue to the OVC.
"WHEREFORE, the premises considered, the OVC
respectively requests the equitable remedy of enjoining [JSU],
Jones, and Killingsworth to pay the debt owed and
compensatory damages in the amount to be determined by the
Court, plus pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest
at the maximum allowable rates; attorneys' fees, costs, and
expenses, where permitted; and all such other and further
relief as the Court deems proper."
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On September 10, 2021, JSU, Jones, and Killingsworth filed a joint
motion to dismiss the OVC's complaint and a memorandum in support
thereof. With respect to the OVC's claims against JSU, the defendants
argued that the Alabama State Board of Adjustment ("the BOA") had
"exclusive jurisdiction" over those claims. With respect to any claims the
OVC asserted against Jones and Killingsworth in their official capacities,
the defendants argued that the claims were barred by State immunity
under § 14 of the Alabama Constitution. See Ala. Const. 1901 (Off.
Recomp.), Art. I, § 14 ("[T]he State of Alabama shall never be made a
defendant in any court of law or equity."). With respect to any claims the
OVC asserted against Jones and Killingsworth in their individual
capacities, the defendants argued that the OVC had failed to state a
claim upon which relief could be granted, and they maintained that the
claims were barred by the doctrine of State-agent immunity, which was
restated by a plurality of this Court in Ex parte Cranman, 792 So. 2d 392(Ala. 2000), and adopted by a majority of this Court in Ex parte Butts,
775 So. 2d 173 (Ala. 2000).
On October 17, 2021, the OVC filed a response to the motion to
dismiss. Concerning its claims against Jones and Killingsworth in their
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official capacities, the OVC contended that State immunity did not apply
because the OVC sought to compel Jones and/or Killingsworth to perform
their legal duties or to perform ministerial acts. Concerning its claims
against Jones and Killingsworth in their individual capacities, the OVC
argued that its allegations that Jones and Killingsworth had acted
willfully, maliciously, intentionally, in bad faith, beyond their authority,
or under a mistaken interpretation of law "[t]o the extent that [their] acts
and omissions could conceivably have been done while Jones and
Killingsworth were exercising a discretionary function" were sufficient to
warrant discovery.
On September 6, 2022, the circuit court held a hearing on the joint
motion to dismiss filed by JSU, Jones, and Killingsworth. At the
conclusion of that hearing, the circuit court stated:
"THE COURT: Okay. I have read all of this. I know this
is a very important case to all of you, but I am afraid after we
spend a lot of time and a lot of money, I am going to reach the
same decision on the Rule 56[, Ala. R. Civ. P., summary-
judgment motion]. I just don't know -- it [immunity] is such a
high, high burden. I don't know how you are going to overcome
it.
"So I am going to grant the Motion to Dismiss, and I
wish you well in the Board of Adjustments."
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On the same day, September 6, 2022, the circuit court entered a judgment
confirming that it was granting the motion to dismiss: "This case came
before the Court on this date for hearing upon Defendants' Motion to
Dismiss. After hearing and in consideration of the applicable law, this
case is hereby dismissed."
On October 20, 2022, the OVC appealed the circuit court's judgment
with respect to all the defendants. On November 21, 2022, the OVC filed
with this Court a "Motion for Voluntary Dismissal of Jacksonville State
University as Appellee." In that motion, the OVC stated that it
"no longer wishes to appeal the trial court's dismissal of its
suit as it relates to JSU. The claim against JSU is properly
within the jurisdiction of the Alabama Board of Adjustment
('BOA') and has been properly asserted and is pending there
to be activated on resolution of this litigation.
"….
"4. OVC filed the underlying lawsuit on August 3, 2021.
Thereafter, on June 28, 2022, OVC also filed a claim against
JSU with the [BOA] by making a protective filing given the
BOA's one-year statute of limitations on claims.
"5. The claim is pending in the BOA with Claim No. 244-
2022101. On June 28, 2022, the BOA advised that OVC's
claim is being held in abeyance pending resolution of this
litigation 'which relates to the same facts from which this
claim arises.'
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"6. Pursuant to BOA Rule 22(b), OVC's claim will not be
scheduled for hearing while litigation pertaining to the same
facts is pending in the Alabama courts. The BOA is expected
to allow its claims process to be activated upon the resolution
of this litigation.
"7. OVC seeks dismissal of JSU only from this appeal
because OVC's claim against JSU is properly within the
jurisdiction of the BOA. Hawkins v. Bd. of Adjustment, 242
Ala. 547, 7 So. 2d 775 (1942)."
On December 1, 2022, this Court granted the OVC's motion,
dismissing JSU as an appellee. Consequently, only the judgment insofar
as it dismisses the claims asserted against Jones and Killingsworth in
their official and individual capacities is before us for review in this
appeal.
II. Standard of Review
As we noted in the rendition of the facts, the OVC asserts claims
against Jones and Killingsworth in their official and individual
capacities. In the circuit court, Jones and Killingsworth contended that
the official-capacity claims were barred by State immunity; they argued
that the individual-capacity claims failed to state a claim upon which
relief could be granted and that they were barred by State-agent
immunity.
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When State immunity applies, "it 'divests the trial courts of this
State of subject-matter jurisdiction.' " Butler v. Parks, 337 So. 3d 1178,
1182 (Ala. 2021) (quoting Alabama State Univ. v. Danley, 212 So. 3d 112,
127 (Ala. 2016)). " 'We review de novo whether the trial court had subject-
matter jurisdiction.' " Taylor v. Paradise Missionary Baptist Church, 242
So. 3d 979, 986 (Ala. 2017) (quoting Solomon v. Liberty Nat'l Life Ins.
Co., 953 So. 2d 1211, 1218 (Ala. 2006)).
" ' "The appropriate standard of review under Rule 12(b)(6)[,
Ala. R. Civ. P.,] is whether, when the allegations of the
complaint are viewed most strongly in the pleader's favor, it
appears that the pleader could prove any set of circumstances
that would entitle [it] to relief. In making this determination,
this Court does not consider whether the plaintiff will
ultimately prevail, but only whether [it] may possibly prevail.
We note that a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal is proper only when it
appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of
facts in support of the claim that would entitle the plaintiff to
relief." ' "
Ex parte Troy Univ., 961 So. 2d 105, 108 (Ala. 2006) (quoting Knox v.
Western World Ins. Co., 893 So. 2d 321, 322 (Ala. 2004), quoting in turn
Nance v. Matthews, 622 So. 2d 297, 299 (Ala. 1993)). "A ruling on a
motion to dismiss is reviewed without a presumption of correctness."
Newman v. Savas, 878 So. 2d 1147, 1148-49 (Ala. 2003).
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III. Analysis
We will first address the official-capacity claims, and we will then
address the individual-capacity claims.
A. Official-Capacity Claims Against Jones and Killingsworth
The OVC contends that the circuit court erred in concluding that
its official-capacity claims against Jones and Killingsworth were barred
by State immunity because, it says, those claims fall within so-called
"exceptions" to State immunity that do not constitute claims against the
State.
"The wall of immunity erected by § 14 is nearly
impregnable. Sanders Lead Co. v. Levine, 370 F. Supp. 1115,
1117 (M.D. Ala. 1973); Taylor v. Troy State Univ., 437 So. 2d
472, 474 (Ala. 1983); Hutchinson v. Board of Trustees of Univ.
of Alabama, 288 Ala. 20, 24, 256 So. 2d 281, 284 (1971). This
immunity may not be waived. Larkins v. Department of
Mental Health & Mental Retardation, 806 So. 2d 358, 363
(Ala. 2001) ('The State is immune from suit, and its immunity
cannot be waived by the Legislature or by any other State
authority.'); Druid City Hosp. Bd. v. Epperson, 378 So. 2d 696(Ala. 1979) (same); Opinion of the Justices No. 69, 247 Ala.
195, 23 So. 2d 505 (1945) (same); see also Dunn Constr. Co. v.
State Bd. of Adjustment, 234 Ala. 372, 175 So. 383 (1937).
'This means not only that the state itself may not be sued, but
that this cannot be indirectly accomplished by suing its
officers or agents in their official capacity, when a result
favorable to plaintiff would be directly to affect the financial
status of the state treasury.' State Docks Comm'n v. Barnes,
225 Ala. 403, 405, 143 So. 581, 582 (1932) (emphasis added);
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see also Southall v. Stricos Corp., 275 Ala. 156, 153 So. 2d 234(1963)."
Patterson v. Gladwin Corp., 835 So. 2d 137, 142 (Ala. 2002).
" 'Section 14 prohibits actions against state officers in
their official capacities when those actions are, in effect,
actions against the State. Lyons v. River Road Constr., Inc.,
858 So. 2d 257, 261 (Ala. 2003); Mitchell v. Davis, 598 So. 2d
801, 806 (Ala. 1992). "In determining whether an action
against a state officer or employee is, in fact, one against the
State, [a] [c]ourt will consider such factors as the nature of the
action and the relief sought." Phillips v. Thomas, 555 So. 2d
81, 83 (Ala. 1989). Such factors include whether "a result
favorable to the plaintiff would directly affect a contract or
property right of the State," Mitchell, 598 So. 2d at 806,
whether the defendant is simply a "conduit" through which
the plaintiff seeks recovery of damages from the State, Barnes
v. Dale, 530 So. 2d 770, 784 (Ala. 1988), and whether "a
judgment against the officer would directly affect the financial
status of the State treasury," Lyons, 858 So. 2d at 261.
Moreover, we note that claims against state officers in their
official capacity are "functionally equivalent" to claims
against the entity they represent. Hinson v. Holt, 776 So. 2d
804, 810 (Ala. Civ. App. 1998); see also McMillian v. Monroe
County, Ala., 520 U.S. 781, 785 n.2, 117 S.Ct. 1734, 138
L.Ed.2d 1 (1997) (noting that a suit against a governmental
officer in his official capacity is the same as a suit against the
entity of which the officer is an agent); Yeldell v. Cooper Green
Hosp., Inc., 956 F.2d 1056, 1060 (11th Cir. 1992) (holding that
official-capacity suits generally represent only another way of
pleading an action against an entity of which an officer is an
agent). ...' "
Ex parte Wilcox Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 285 So. 3d 765, 776 (Ala. 2019)
(quoting Haley v. Barbour Cnty., 885 So. 2d 783, 788 (Ala. 2004)).
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" 'Alabama A & M University is an instrumentality of
the State of Alabama and, thus, is absolutely immune from
suit under § 14.' Matthews v. Alabama Agric. & Mech. Univ.,
787 So. 2d 691, 696 (Ala. 2000). Accord Ex parte Craft, 727
So. 2d 55, 58 (Ala. 1999); Rigby v. Auburn Univ., 448 So. 2d
345, 347 (Ala. 1984); Taylor v. Troy State Univ., 437 So. 2d
472, 474 (Ala. 1983). Thus, actions against officers, trustees,
and employees of state universities in their official capacities
are likewise barred by § 14."
Alabama Agric. & Mech. Univ. v. Jones, 895 So. 2d 867, 873 (Ala. 2004).
Jones and Killingsworth rely upon the principles provided in the
above-quoted cases in arguing that the OVC's official-capacity claims
against them are functionally equivalent to claims against the State
because the OVC is using Jones and Killingsworth as conduits for forcing
JSU to pay the conference-resignation fee described in Article 4.5.3 of the
OVC Constitution and to reimburse the OVC $15,000 for tickets JSU
received from the OVC for the OVC's 2021 conference championship
basketball tournament. In short, they contend that the OVC is
attempting to accomplish indirectly by suing Jones and Killingsworth in
their official capacities what the OVC cannot do directly by suing JSU
because a result favorable to the OVC would affect the financial status of
the state treasury.
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The OVC concedes that it cannot sue JSU in the courts of this state
for monetary relief; indeed, that is why it dismissed the appeal of the
judgment insofar as it dismissed OVC's claims against JSU on the ground
that those claims are "properly within the jurisdiction of the Alabama
[State] Board of Adjustment." However, the OVC insists that its official-
capacity claims against Jones and Killingsworth are not protected by § 14
of the Alabama Constitution.
" '[C]ertain actions are not barred by § 14. There
are six general categories of actions that do not
come within the prohibition of § 14: (1) actions
brought to compel State officials to perform their
legal duties; (2) actions brought to enjoin State
officials from enforcing an unconstitutional law;
(3) actions to compel State officials to perform
ministerial acts; (4) actions brought against State
officials under the Declaratory Judgments Act,
Ala. Code 1975, § 6-6-220 et seq., seeking
construction of a statute and its application in a
given situation; (5) valid inverse condemnation
actions brought against State officials in their
representative capacity; and (6) actions for
injunction or damages brought against State
officials in their representative capacity and
individually where it was alleged that they had
acted fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond their
authority, or in a mistaken interpretation of law.
See Drummond Co. v. Alabama Dep't of Transp.,
937 So. 2d 56, 58 (Ala. 2006) (quoting Ex parte
Carter, 395 So. 2d 65, 68 (Ala. 1980)); Alabama
Dep't of Transp. v. Harbert Int'l, Inc., 990 So. 2d
831 (Ala. 2008) (holding that the exception for
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declaratory-judgment actions applies only to
actions against State officials). As we confirmed in
Harbert, these "exceptions" to sovereign immunity
apply only to actions brought against State
officials; they do not apply to actions against the
State or against State agencies. See Alabama
Dep't of Transp., 990 So. 2d at 840-41.'
"Ex parte Alabama Dep't of Fin., 991 So. 2d 1254, 1256-57
(Ala. 2008). The sixth 'exception' to § 14 immunity was
restated in Ex parte Moulton, 116 So. 3d 1119, 1141 (Ala.
2013), as follows:
" '(6)(a) actions for injunction brought against
State officials in their representative capacity
where it is alleged that they had acted
fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond their authority,
or in a mistaken interpretation of law, Wallace v.
Board of Education of Montgomery County, 280
Ala. 635, 197 So. 2d 428 (1967), and (b) actions for
damages brought against State officials in their
individual capacity where it is alleged that they
had acted fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond their
authority, or in a mistaken interpretation of law,
subject to the limitation that the action not be, in
effect, one against the State. Phillips v. Thomas,
555 So. 2d 81, 83 (Ala. 1989).' " 3
Ex parte Hampton, 189 So. 3d 14, 17-18 (Ala. 2015) (emphasis added).
3As the Court previously has noted: "These actions are sometimes
referred to as 'exceptions' to § 14; however, in actuality these actions are
simply not considered to be actions ' "against the State" for § 14 purposes.'
Patterson v. Gladwin Corp., 835 So. 2d 137, 142 (Ala. 2002)." Alabama
Dep't of Transp. v. Harbert Int'l, Inc., 990 So. 2d 831, 840 (Ala. 2008),
abrogated on other grounds by Ex parte Moulton, 116 So. 3d 1119 (Ala.
2013).
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The OVC contends that the situation presented in this case "falls
squarely within" category (1) -- an action to compel state officials to
perform their legal duties -- or within category (3) -- an action to compel
state officials to perform ministerial acts. The OVC's brief, p. 21. In
support of that argument, the OVC attempts to draw parallels between
the facts in this case and those in State Highway Department v. Milton
Construction Co., 586 So. 2d 872 (Ala. 1991) ("Milton Construction II"),
State Board of Administration v. Roquemore, 218 Ala. 120, 117 So. 757(1928), and Marous Bros. Construction, LLC v. Alabama State
University, 533 F. Supp. 2d 1199 (M.D. Ala. 2008). This Court has
commented that
"the takeaway from Milton Construction [II] and Marous
Brothers is that once the State has contracted for services and
has accepted those services, it is legally obligated to pay for
those services, and a claim seeking to enforce that legal
obligation falls within the parameters of the first 'exception'
to § 14 immunity."
Alabama State Univ. v. Danley, 212 So. 3d 112, 127 (Ala. 2016).
Similarly, the Court has stated that
"in Roquemore, Hardin[ v. Fullilove Excavating Co., 353
So. 2d 779 (Ala. 1977)], and Dampier[ v. Pegues, 362 So. 2d
224 (Ala. 1978)], the writ of mandamus issued, as McDowell-
Purcell[, Inc. v. Bass, 370 So. 2d 942 (Ala. 1979),] explains,
only after the discretion of state officials had been exhausted.
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Consequently, mandamus was, in those cases, an available
remedy to compel state agents to perform the essentially
ministerial act of rendering payment for goods or services
accepted. Cf. State of Alabama Highway Dep't v. Milton
Constr. Co., 586 So. 2d 872 (Ala. 1991) (State Highway
Department had no right to withhold payment from a
construction company under a contractual clause held in an
earlier opinion by this Court to be a void penalty provision)."
Jones, 895 So. 2d at 881 (emphasis added). In short, regardless of
whether the action at issue is permissible under category (1) or category
(3), this Court has held that a court order is available to compel state
officials to pay for goods or services that the particular state entity
involved in the transaction had accepted.
In its complaint, the OVC discussed "goods and services" that JSU
allegedly had received because of its membership in the OVC:
"19. Each year of its OVC membership, [JSU] received
continuous goods and services, including monetary benefits,
as a result of its membership. Many of the goods and services
are available only to an institution that is a member of a
National Collegiate Athletics Association ('NCAA') Division I
conference. It is nearly impossible for a school to function
within the Division I athletics structure without being a
member of a conference. In fact, schools transitioning into
Division I must now do so through a conference.
"20. As a result of its OVC membership, among other
goods and services, [JSU] received (a) organized, conference-
based athletic competitions; (b) the opportunity to compete for
individual and team conference championship titles, prestige,
and bragging rights, such as OVC Commissioner's Cups;
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(c) the opportunity to compete for NCAA championships
automatically by winning OVC conference championships or
by receiving an at-large selection, including the NCAA men's
(March Madness) and women's basketball tournament;
(d) access to the NCAA governance structure (which is limited
to schools affiliated with NCAA Division I multisport
conferences); (e) administrative and legal support, including
scheduling and compliance with NCAA and OVC rules;
(f) educational seminars and programming; (g) officiating;
(h) digital streaming and replay equipment; (i) media
exposure through the OVC's national media partners; (j) the
right to market and promote affiliation with the OVC, an
esteemed Division I conference; (k) a share of year-end OVC
distributions and basketball pool funds; (l) upon approval by
the Board of Presidents, a share of revenue from the OVC's
contracts with television broadcasters, including the OVC's
current contract with ESPN (the biggest in the OVC's
history); (m) access to the OVC's sponsorship partnership
with Learfield (previously Learfield IMG College); (n) a share
of NCAA year-end funds distributed through the OVC; (o) a
share of College Football Playoff Grant Funds; (p) competition
and academic awards and honors; and (q) in 2020, COVID-19
equipment and supplies.
"21. In particular, basketball pool funds have been a
unique benefit received by [JSU] due to its OVC membership.
Division I Basketball Performance Funds are monies that the
NCAA distributes to conferences for their members' success
in the Division I men's basketball tournament. Each win in
the Division I men's basketball tournament equates to a 'unit'
of Division I Basketball Performance Funds. Conferences --
not the NCAA -- determine how Division I Basketball
Performance Funds received from the NCAA are distributed
to their conference members. The OVC distributes Division I
Basketball Performance Funds to all its members, regardless
[of] which member won the tournament game resulting in the
'unit.' But not every conference distributes Division I
Basketball Performance Funds in this way. Because all OVC
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members receive a share of Division I Basketball Performance
Funds distributed to the OVC, [JSU] has received Division I
Basketball Performance Funds regardless of whether it won
March Madness tournament games."
The OVC contends that "this case involves JSU legally contracting
with OVC to receive goods and services and obligating itself to pay a
liquidated sum upon exiting the conference. … Thus, JSU became legally
obligated to pay the exit fee when it did not comply with the OVC
Constitutional provisions regarding departure." The OVC's brief, p. 23.
Jones and Killingsworth argue that the Roquemore/Milton
Construction II/Marous Brothers line of cases does not apply in this
instance because, they say,
"[t]his case is clearly not one where the OVC is seeking
payment for accepted goods and services. The OVC
Constitution, which contains the penalty provision, states
that the OVC is: 'A voluntary, non-profit association of
institutions committed to the conduct and governance of
intercollegiate athletics in proper relationship to the mission
and values of higher education.' Const., Art. 4.2. It is not a
buyer-seller or services contract. The OVC's Complaint itself
recognizes that the purpose of the provision is not to pay for
goods and services. Instead, the purpose of the provision is 'to
compensate the OVC for the effects of a member's departure.'
[Paragraph] 1. In other words, the Complaint alleges that the
OVC is seeking damages."
Jones and Killingsworth's brief, pp. 19-20 (record citations omitted).
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In further support of their argument that the OVC is seeking
damages against the State, rather than seeking payment for goods or
services received, Jones and Killingsworth note that the OVC's complaint
states:
"30. Exit fee provisions ensure the vitality and longevity
of collegiate athletics conferences. They are a critical
component of benefits received by member institutions, and
they protect the interests of athletic conferences and their
members. As but one important example in this case, the exit
fee will help offset costs that the OVC has already incurred
due to [JSU] resigning its membership."
(Emphasis added.) The complaint also asserts that "[t]he exit fee clause
is effectively a liquidated damages provision contained in the OVC
Constitution to compensate the OVC for the effects of a member's
departure." (Emphasis added.) The OVC expounded upon those
statements in its response to the motion to dismiss:
"The OVC is not limited to recovering only lost net
revenue -- indeed, that is the exact reason the exit fee is
included in the Constitution. A conference, here the OVC,
suffers more than lost revenue. As detailed above, the OVC
will suffer from lost opportunity costs, which include revenue-
generating opportunities, increased expenses in recruiting a
replacement member, loss in reputation, weakened
bargaining power, and other elements of damage. Because
these damages are hard to quantify, the OVC member
institutions chose to memorialize them into the exit fee."
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Based on the allegations in the OVC's complaint and the arguments
it presented to the circuit court, we agree with Jones and Killingsworth
that the conference-resignation fee described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC
Constitution does not represent a payment for goods and services JSU
accepted for being a member of the OVC in the same way that the
plaintiffs in Roquemore, Milton Construction II, and Marous Brothers
sought payment for contracted-for goods and services that had been
accepted by the State. Instead, as the OVC admits, the conference-
resignation fee exists "because resigning membership negatively affects
the OVC and causes damages to the conference and other member
institutions." The OVC's brief, p. 23.
However, the fact that reimbursement to the OVC for goods and
services JSU accepted is not the sole purpose of the conference-
resignation fee does not mean that the OVC's claims against Jones and
Killingsworth seeking an order for payment of that fee constitute an
impermissible action for damages against the State.
"[T]he trial court can generally, by writ of mandamus, order
State officers in certain situations to pay liquidated damages
or contractually specified debts. The payment of these certain,
liquidated amounts would be only a ministerial act that State
officers do not have the discretion to avoid. [Alabama Agric. &
Mech. Univ. v.] Jones, 895 So. 2d [867] at 878-79 [(Ala. 2004)];
22
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[State Bd. of Admin. v.] Roquemore, 218 Ala. [120] at 124, 117
So. [757] at 760 [(1928)]. Furthermore, although the payment
of the funds 'may ultimately touch the State treasury,' Horn
v. Dunn Bros., 262 Ala. 404, 410, 79 So. 2d 11, 17 (1955), the
payment does not 'affect the financial status of the State
treasury,' Lyons [v. River Road Constr., Inc.], 858 So. 2d [257]
at 261 [(Ala. 2003)], because the funds 'do not belong to the
State,' Alabama Dep't of Envtl. Mgmt. v. Lowndesboro, 950
So. 2d 1180, 1190 n.6 (Ala. Civ. App. 2005) (two-judge
opinion), and the State treasury 'suffers no more than it
would' had the State officers originally performed their duties
and paid the debts. Horn, 262 Ala. at 410, 79 So. 2d at 17. The
trial court may not, however, award retroactive relief in the
nature of unliquidated damages or compensatory damages,
because such relief affects a property or contract right of the
State. Stark [v. Troy State Univ., 514 So. 2d 46 (Ala. 1987)];
Williams [v. Hank's Ambulance Serv., Inc., 699 So. 2d 1230(Ala. 1997)]; Roquemore; J.B. McCrary Co. v. Brunson, 204
Ala. 85, 86, 85 So. 396, 396 (1920) ('mandamus will not lie to
compel the payment of unliquidated claims'); and Vaughan [v.
Sibley, 709 So. 2d 482 (Ala. Civ. App. 1997)]."
Alabama Dep't of Transp. v. Harbert Int'l, Inc., 990 So. 2d 831, 845-46
(Ala. 2008) (emphasis added).
As we have already noted, the OVC alleged that the conference-
resignation fee "is effectively a liquidated damages provision …." There
is no dispute between the parties as to the amount of the fee, and there
also is no dispute that, if Article 4.5.3 of the OVC Constitution is
enforceable, JSU would owe the fee to the OVC. Cf. Woodfin v. Bender,
238 So. 3d 24, 31-32 (Ala. 2017) (plurality opinion) (agreeing with Justice
23
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Murdock's observation from his special concurrence in Harbert that the
cases discussing " 'claims that are "liquidated," when considered in
context, are references not merely to claims for amounts that have been
reduced to sums certain, but claims as to which there is no room for
dispute as to liability, i.e., whether the amounts at issue are owed' "
(quoting Harbert, 990 So. 2d at 849 (Murdock, J., concurring specially))).
Jones and Killingsworth strenuously argue that cases that have
required state officers to pay contractually obligated liquidated damages
as a ministerial act that the officers had no discretion to avoid do not
apply in this instance because, they say, "[l]iability is vigorously disputed
because the provision on which the OVC relies is an unenforceable
penalty. [JSU] (and Jones and Killingsworth) have discretion to refuse to
pay a $1,000,000 fee which arises out of an unenforceable penalty
provision." Jones and Killingsworth's brief, p. 26.4 Jones and
Killingsworth note that this Court has
"recognize[d] the well-settled law in Alabama that penalty
provisions are void as against public policy and that courts are
' "disposed to lean against any interpretation of a contract
which will make the provision one for liquidated damages
4Jones and Killingsworth's brief mentions the term "penalty" in
relation to the conference-resignation fee no less than 70 times in its
48 pages.
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and, in all cases of doubtful intention, will pronounce the
stipulated sum a penalty." ' See Camelot Music, Inc. v. Marx
Realty & Improvement Co., 514 So. 2d 987, 990 (Ala. 1987),
quoting Cook v. Brown, 408 So. 2d 143, 144 (Ala. Civ. App.
1981)."
Milton Construction Co. v. State Highway Dep't, 568 So. 2d 784, 789 (Ala.
1990) ("Milton Construction I"), overruled in part on other grounds by
Ex parte Alabama Dep't of Transp., 978 So. 2d 17, 23 (Ala. 2007). In their
brief, Jones and Killingsworth then proceed to explain why they believe
that the conference-resignation fee described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC
Constitution is a penalty rather than a liquidated-damages provision and
that, therefore, it is unenforceable.5 See Jones and Killingsworth's brief,
pp. 26-35.
5The Court in Milton Construction I summarized the legal
difference between a penalty and a liquidated-damages provision, and it
listed the criteria our courts use for distinguishing between the two:
"A penalty is in essence a security for performance
designed to punish one party for breach of contract, whereas
a liquidated damages provision is a sum to be paid in lieu of
performance (a sum that the parties agree upon as an
adequate assessment of damages that would result from a
possible breach). See Camelot Music, Inc. v. Marx Realty &
Improvement Co., [514 So. 2d 987, 990 (Ala. 1987)]; Cook v.
Brown, [408 So. 2d 143, 144 (Ala. Civ. App. 1981)]; see, also,
Forsyth v. Central Foundry Co., 240 Ala. 277, 198 So. 70625
SC-2022-0930
(1940); Standard Tilton Milling Co. v. Toole, 223 Ala. 450, 137
So. 13 (1931).
" 'Attempts are sometimes made to conceal the fact
that the amount specified in a contract is a penalty
by using words indicating that the payment is
[something else]. There is a borderline along which
it is difficult to determine the question; but
payment of the specified amount will not be
enforced if the court is convinced that it is a
penalty the purpose of which was to stimulate
performance of a promise to do something else.'
"Restatement of Contracts, § 339 at 554 (1932). …
"Although Camelot Music, Inc. v. Marx Realty &
Improvement Co., supra, established an analysis to determine
whether a liquidated damages provision must fail as a
penalty, that analysis applies equally well to a determination
whether a disincentive clause must fail as a penalty. In
Camelot Music, Inc., supra, we cited three criteria by which a
stipulated damages clause may be characterized as liquidated
damages as opposed to a penalty:
" 'First, the injury caused by the breach must be
difficult or impossible to accurately estimate;
second, the parties must intend to provide for the
damages rather than for a penalty; and, third, the
sum stipulated must be a reasonable pre-breach
estimate of the probable loss.'
"514 So. 2d at 990, citing C. Gamble and D. Corley, Alabama
Law of Damages § 5-4 (1982). If one of these three criteria is
not met, the clause must fail as a penalty."
568 So. 2d at 790 (emphasis omitted).
26
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However, even though the issue whether the conference-
resignation fee constitutes a liquidated-damages provision or a penalty
that violates public policy appears to be an important one for determining
whether JSU is liable to the OVC under Article 4.5.3 of the OVC
Constitution, that issue is not before us in this appeal because it concerns
the merits of the OVC's claim. See Camelot Music, Inc. v. Marx Realty &
Improvement Co., 514 So. 2d 987, 990 (Ala. 1987) (noting that
"[d]etermining whether a liquidated damages provision is valid is a
question of law to be determined by the trial court based on the facts of
each case"). At this stage of the litigation, we do not assess the merits of
the OVC's claims; we are concerned with whether the OVC's claims
against Jones and Killingsworth in their official capacities are barred by
State immunity. Cf. Ex parte Thomas, 110 So. 3d 363, 367 (Ala. 2012)
(observing that, "[i]n this case, … ACIFA [the Alabama Corrections
Institution Finance Authority] and Thomas are essentially arguing that
the correctional officers' claims against ACIFA have no basis because,
they claim, ACIFA has nothing to do with the manner in which
correctional officers are compensated or the funds with which they are
compensated. This argument goes to the merits of the correctional
27
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officers' claims, and, regardless of whatever merit the argument might
have, it does not raise a justiciability issue.").
Moreover, Jones and Killingsworth are simply incorrect that
because they dispute the enforceability of the conference-resignation fee
described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC Constitution, the payment of that
fee is a matter of discretion rather than a ministerial act that a court may
order them to have JSU pay. That same type of argument was presented
by the defendants in Barnhart v. Ingalls, 275 So. 3d 1112 (Ala. 2018),
with respect to the official-capacity claims asserted against them. 6
"In Barnhart, the Alabama Supreme Court considered
what it construed as an appeal by three ASSEC [Alabama
Space Science Exhibit Commission] officers in their official
and individual capacities. The basis of Barnhart was an audit
of ASSEC conducted by the Department of Examiners of
Public Accounts ('DEPA') in which DEPA discovered that
ASSEC had not complied with Alabama law in (1) its payment
of annual longevity bonuses to ASSEC employees; and (2) in
the manner it compensated ASSEC employees for working on
certain state holidays. Id. at 1116 … (citing Ala. Code [1975,]
§ 36-6-11(a) and § 1-3-8). Representatives of ASSEC
maintained, among other things, that the legislation
pursuant to which it was created removed it from the purview
of certain state employment laws, including the benefits
6In Ex parte Pinkard, [Ms. 1200658, May 27, 2022] ___ So. 3d ___
(Ala. 2022), this Court overruled the Barnhart Court's conclusion that
"any 'individual capacity' claims alleging breach of duties that 'existed
solely because of [the officers'] official positions' are substantively claims
against the State for purposes of § 14." ___ So. 3d at ___.
28
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statutes. Plaintiffs, former employees of ASSEC, filed suit
against ASSEC and several ASSEC officers, alleging that they
had not received all compensation to which they were entitled
by statute during their tenures as ASSEC employees. In
particular, plaintiffs alleged that they had not been paid the
amount of longevity bonuses to which they were entitled when
they were ASSEC employees and that they had not been
properly compensated for working on state holidays that were
not observed at ASSEC."
Alabama Space Sci. Exhibit Comm'n v. Merkel American Ins. Co., 400 F.
Supp. 3d 1259, 1263 (N.D. Ala. 2019). With respect to the ASSEC-
employee plaintiffs' claim seeking "an award of all moneys previously
earned but not paid because of the failure to comply with the benefits
statutes ('the retrospective-relief claim')," the ASSEC-officer defendants
argued that they were immune based on the doctrine of State immunity.
Barnhart, 275 So. 3d at 1118, 1121. The ASSEC-employee plaintiffs'
rejoinder -- like the OVC's response in this case -- was that,
"although that claim seeks the payment of money damages,
the claim is, they say, at its core, simply an attempt to compel
State officials to perform their legal duty or a ministerial act
-- that duty or act being the payment of money class members
are entitled to by the clear terms of the benefits statutes --
and such actions are not barred by § 14."
Id. at 1122. The ASSEC-officer defendants objected -- as Jones and
Killingsworth do in this case -- that the cases that have allowed suits
against state officers in their official capacities because the payment
29
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sought would involve a legal duty or ministerial act did not apply
because, they said, "whether the [ASSEC] is subject to the benefit
statutes is disputed in this case." Id. at 1123. The Barnhart Court
rejected that argument:
"In contrast, the issue in this case, as in Ex parte Bessemer
Board[ of Education, 68 So. 3d 782 (Ala. 2011)], is one of
statutory interpretation -- does a statute entitle the plaintiffs
to compensation they did not receive. As this Court explained
in Ex parte Bessemer Board:
" '[I]t is undisputed that the Bessemer Board
members have a statutory duty to pay [the
plaintiff] the appropriate salary increase under
§ 16-22-13.1, Ala. Code 1975. That statute
specifically provides that a public school teacher
with [the plaintiff's] years of experience being paid
under the State minimum-salary schedule shall
receive a 5.5% increase in salary beginning with
the fiscal year 2000-2001. The basis for this
calculation is at issue in this lawsuit. The amount
of the salary increase the Bessemer Board
members must pay [the plaintiff] involves
obedience to the statute; it does not involve any
discretion. The Bessemer Board members have a
legal duty to pay [the plaintiff] the correctly
calculated salary increase under the statute and in
doing so they are performing a ministerial act.
Therefore, [the plaintiff's] action against the
Bessemer Board members in their official
capacities is not an action "against the State" for
§ 14 purposes; thus, the Bessemer Board members
are not entitled to § 14 immunity from [the
plaintiff's] action to compel them to fulfill their
30
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statutory duty to pay her the appropriate salary
increase.'
"68 So. 3d at 790-91 (emphasis added). Thus, if the benefit
statutes obligated the [ASSEC] officers to pay the named
plaintiffs compensation they were not paid, the [ASSEC]
officers had no discretion to avoid that requirement; obedience
to the statute is mandatory. Any confusion the [ASSEC]
officers might have had regarding the interpretation of the
benefit statutes, however reasonable, is ultimately
immaterial because that confusion cannot serve as the basis
for avoiding a statutory requirement. In sum, if it is
ultimately determined that the named plaintiffs should have
received additional compensation pursuant to the benefit
statutes, the [ASSEC] officers had a legal duty to make those
payments all along, and in finally doing so they are merely
performing a ministerial act. Accordingly, the named
plaintiffs' retrospective-relief claim is not barred by § 14."
Barnhart, 275 So. 3d at 1124-25 (final emphasis added).
In sum, in Barnhart, the ASSEC-officer defendants had no
discretion to avoid paying the ASSEC-employee plaintiffs' compensation
if the compensation statutes applied to the ASSEC, and so the plaintiffs'
retrospective-relief claim was not barred by State immunity. Likewise, in
this case, Jones and Killingsworth would have no discretion to avoid
paying the conference-resignation fee if the conference-resignation fee as
described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC Constitution is enforceable. Any
confusion Jones and Killingsworth might have had regarding whether
the conference-resignation fee was a penalty rather than a liquidated-
31
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damages provision is immaterial to whether paying the fee is a legal duty
or a ministerial act. Consequently, the OVC's official-capacity claims
against Jones and Killingsworth based on the conference-resignation fee
as described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC Constitution are not barred by
State immunity.
Furthermore, the OVC alleges that JSU's receipt of tickets from the
OVC for the OVC's 2021 conference championship basketball tournament
valued at $15,000 is in the nature of contracted-for goods that JSU
accepted. Indeed, the only argument Jones and Killingsworth offer
against the OVC's claim seeking payment for the tickets is that "the OVC
has refused to pay [JSU] other sums that are owing despite [JSU's]
departure from the [OVC]." Jones and Killingsworth's brief, p. 10. That
is a merits-based defense, not one that implicates State immunity.
Therefore, under the Roquemore/Milton Construction II/Marous
Brothers line of cases, the OVC's official-capacity claims against Jones
and Killingsworth seeking $15,000 in reimbursement for the tickets JSU
received from the OVC for the OVC's 2021 conference championship
basketball tournament are not barred by State immunity.
32
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Jones and Killingsworth present one other argument pertaining to
the official-capacity claims asserted against them that warrants our
attention.
"As previously noted, the OVC has a claim pending
before the Board of Adjustment for the same relief it seeks
here -- the payment of a $1,000,000 penalty by [JSU] for
leaving the OVC. Despite already having a remedy, the OVC
tries to circumvent the Board of Adjustment's exclusive
jurisdiction over a contract claim against [JSU] by suing
Chairman Jones and President Killingsworth in their official
and individual capacities for injunctive relief. The official
capacity claims should be dismissed because they are barred
by state immunity."
Jones and Killingsworth's brief, p. 13. In essence, Jones and
Killingsworth contend that because the OVC has filed a claim against
JSU with the BOA, it cannot assert claims against Jones and
Killingsworth in their official capacities based on the same cause of
action. Put differently, Jones and Killingsworth seem to be asserting that
because the OVC concedes that the BOA has jurisdiction over its claims
against JSU, the OVC cannot assert claims against Jones and
Killingsworth in their official capacities that arise from the same
conduct.
Section 41-9-60, Ala. Code 1975, addresses the BOA's purpose:
33
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"The purpose of this division [§ 41-9-60 through § 41-9-
74, Ala. Code 1975] is to provide a method of payment by the
State of Alabama or any of its agencies, commissions, boards,
institutions or departments to persons for injuries to person
or property or for death occasioned by the State of Alabama or
any of its agencies, commissions, boards, institutions or
departments where in law, justice or good morals the same
should be paid."
Section 41-9-62, Ala. Code 1975, addresses the BOA's jurisdiction
and provides, in pertinent part:
"(a) The Board of Adjustment shall have the power and
jurisdiction and it shall be its duty to hear and consider:
"….
"(4) All claims against the State of Alabama
or any of its agencies, commissions, boards,
institutions or departments arising out of any
contract, express or implied, to which the State of
Alabama or any of its agencies, commissions,
boards, institutions or departments are parties,
where there is claimed a legal or moral obligation
resting on the state;
"….
"(b) The jurisdiction of the Board of Adjustment is
specifically limited to the consideration of the claims
enumerated in subsection (a) of this section and no others;
provided, that nothing contained in this division shall confer
upon the Board of Adjustment any jurisdiction now conferred
by law upon the State Board of Compromise provided for in
Sections 41-1-3 and 41-1-4, [Ala. Code 1975,] and nothing
contained in this division shall be construed to confer
jurisdiction upon the Board of Adjustment to settle or adjust
34
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any matter or claim of which the courts of this state have or
had jurisdiction …."
(Emphasis added.)
After the BOA was created by the legislature in 1935,7 this Court
discussed the purpose and powers of the BOA in a series of cases,
including: Dunn Construction Co. v. State Board of Adjustment, 234 Ala.
372, 175 So. 383 (1937); John E. Ballenger Construction Co. v. State
Board of Adjustment, 234 Ala. 377, 175 So. 387 (1937); and Lee v.
Cunningham, 234 Ala. 639, 176 So. 477 (1937). In one of those early
7An Alabama Lawyer article that reviewed the BOA's creation and
growth in its early years explained:
"The Alabama State Board of Adjustment owes its
existence to two developments which came in the early 1930's.
First, an increasing number of relief bills were being
presented to the Legislature …. Second, Governor Benjamin
Meek Miller was vetoing many of those relief bills which were
being passed. There is no record of the actual number of bills
vetoed, but investigation reveals ten acts providing relief for
injured State employees which were passed over the
governor's veto in 1931 and 1932.
"Disturbed by these two developments, Aubrey
Dominick, State Representative from Tuscaloosa, introduced
a bill establishing the Board, which passed and on
September 14, 1935, was approved by Governor Bibb Graves."
H. Ellsworth Steele, The Alabama State Board of Adjustment and the
Law, 19 Ala. Law. 397, 397 (1958).
35
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cases, Hawkins v. State Board of Adjustment, 242 Ala. 547, 548, 7 So. 2d
775, 776-77 (1942), this Court explained:
"The Legislature in th[e] Article of the Code [addressing
the authority of the Board of Adjustment] recognizes that
there is sometimes a moral obligation which justifies it under
the Constitution to appropriate money for certain claims
when there is no legal obligation to pay them, but there is a
duty to do so in the interest of the general public. State v.
Clements, 220 Ala. 515, 126 So. 162 [(1930)]; Board of
Revenue and Road Com'rs v. Puckett, 227 Ala. 374, 149 So.
850 [(1933)]; Moses v. Tigner, 232 Ala. 457, 168 So. 194[(1936)].
"The authority of the Board of Adjustment is to act for
the Legislature on facts found by the board within defined
limits, when no court has jurisdiction, but when one of the
State agencies has so acted as to create a moral obligation
which should be discharged as a public duty. The board does
not sit as a court and does not legislate. But the Legislature
makes the appropriation and imposes the duty on the board
to find facts and draw deductions within defined limitations.
The legislative act then operates upon that finding."
(Emphasis added.) See, e.g., Lee, 234 Ala. at 641, 176 So. at 479 ("Our
judgment … is that the legislative purpose disclosed in the act … was to
confer on said board jurisdiction over claims against the state, colorable
legally and morally well grounded, not justiciable in the courts, because
of the state's constitutional immunity from being made a defendant
(Const. 1901, § 14), and to exclude from its jurisdiction claims well
grounded in law or equity, cognizable by the courts …."); Ex parte
36
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Cranman, 792 So. 2d 392, 399 n.9 (Ala. 2000) (plurality opinion) (stating
that "the Board of Adjustment … functions outside the judicial system"
and "extends a measure of compensation or relief when the rule of
sovereign immunity exempts the State and its respective agencies from
suit").
In Dunn Construction, the Court specifically discussed contract-
based claims such as those at issue in this case:
"The Legislature, as often declared, has authority to
make appropriations by way of relief where a moral obligation
of a public character has arisen. State Boards of Adjustment
may well be set up as a state agency, a factfinding body, with
administrative and quasi-judicial powers in the
administration of funds appropriated for such relief purposes,
the law itself defining the class of claims and the principles of
law on which the fund is to be administered.
"As for claims arising from contracts with the state,
including contracts through agencies authorized to contract
on behalf of the state, it is to be observed that all persons
dealing with the state are charged with knowledge that no one
has authority to subject the state to suit. Not that the holders
of state obligations are without remedy. When an obligation
of the state to pay money is created by law, or by contract duly
authorized, somewhere there is a duty imposed on a public
officer or officers to make payment from the funds
appropriated therefor. Performance of such official duty, in a
wide range of cases, not necessary to here review, may be
compelled by mandamus. This class of claims is evidently
intended to be excepted from the jurisdiction of the State
Board of Adjustment by the clause in section 2, excluding 'Any
37
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matter or claim of which the courts of the State have
jurisdiction.' "
234 Ala. at 376, 175 So. at 386 (emphasis added).
From the foregoing, it becomes clear that Jones and Killingsworth's
argument invoking the OVC's claim before the BOA misunderstands both
the purpose and powers of the BOA. Because the BOA is not a court,
"[t]he statutes that created the [BOA], and that enumerate its powers, …
do not create a right, but grant a privilege, to have certain types of claims
heard." Ex parte Houston Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 562 So. 2d 513, 514 (Ala.
1990). Thus, the fact that the OVC filed a claim with the BOA has no
bearing on our determinations that the OVC's claims against Jones and
Killingsworth in their official capacities seeking payment for the
liquidated amount of the conference-resignation fee and for the value of
the tickets JSU received for the OVC's 2021 conference championship
basketball tournament do not constitute claims against the State and
that, therefore, those claims are not barred by State immunity. It is true
that the BOA cannot exercise jurisdiction over claims amenable in our
courts, but obviously the OVC's claim with the BOA is not before us.
38
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B. Individual-Capacity Claims Against Jones and Killingsworth
The OVC contends that the circuit court erred in dismissing its
individual-capacity claims against Jones and Killingsworth because, the
OVC says, it is not obvious from the face of its complaint that Jones and
Killingsworth are entitled to State-agent immunity. In support of that
contention, the OVC cites and quotes from several cases in which we have
noted that
"a motion to dismiss is typically not the appropriate vehicle
by which to assert qualified immunity or State-agent
immunity and that normally the determination as to the
existence of such a defense should be reserved until the
summary-judgment stage, following appropriate discovery.
' "[I]t is the rare case involving the defense of [State-agent]
immunity that would be properly disposed of by a dismissal
pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), [Ala. R. Civ. P.]." ' Ex parte Butts,
775 So. 2d [173] at 177 [(Ala. 2000)], quoting Patton v. Black,
646 So. 2d 8, 10 (Ala. 1994) (quoting earlier cases)."
Ex parte Alabama Dep't of Mental Health & Mental Retardation, 837
So. 2d 808, 813-14 (Ala. 2002).
We readily agree that determinations regarding the applicability of
State-agent immunity ordinarily are not appropriate at the motion-to-
dismiss stage of litigation. However, the circuit court's judgment
dismissing the OVC's claims did not specify the grounds for its decision,
and Jones and Killingsworth's first argument in their memorandum in
39
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support of the motion to dismiss with respect to the OVC's individual-
capacity claims was that the OVC had failed to state claims upon which
relief could be granted. They asserted:
"The only relief sought in Count VI is: (1) an injunction to stop
JSU from leaving the OVC, which has already occurred; and
(2) an order compelling JSU, 'Killingsworth and Jones to
perform the ministerial duty of causing payment to issue to
the OVC.'
"In their individual capacities, Jones and Killingsworth
lack the authority to make JSU do anything. They only have
authority when acting in their official capacities. No true
claim is asserted against Jones and Killingsworth in their
individual capacities. The individual-capacity claims against
them should be dismissed."
Jones and Killingsworth renew that argument in response to the OVC's
appeal, stating: "[I]s there any possible basis for claiming that Jones and
Killingsworth are personally responsible for an alleged debt of [JSU]? Of
course not. The claim was properly dismissed." Jones and Killingsworth's
brief, p. 37.
We agree with Jones and Killingsworth. As we noted in the
rendition of the facts, the OVC's count that included claims against Jones
and Killingsworth -- Count VI -- first alleged that, in their official
capacities, Jones and Killingsworth had failed to meet their
"responsibility to follow established procedures for the payment of
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[JSU's] contractual obligations and debts due and owing, and also to
follow guidelines and established accounting procedures to ensure that
established obligations, such as those owed to the OVC, were paid" and
that "[t]hese acts and omissions constitute violations of ministerial,
rather than discretionary, duties." In other words, the OVC first alleged
official-capacity claims against Jones and Killingsworth.
However, the complaint then alleged:
"83. To the extent that these acts and omissions could
conceivably have been done while Jones and Killingsworth
were exercising a discretionary function, then the act or
omission was done willfully, maliciously, intentionally, in bad
faith, beyond the authority of Jones or Killingsworth, or under
a mistaken interpretation of the law. Otherwise, the acts or
omissions complained of herein involved ministerial acts that
were improperly performed by Jones or Killingsworth, or at
their direction."
(Emphasis added.) In other words, the OVC's complaint alleged that
Jones and Killingsworth could be held individually liable for their failure
to order JSU to pay its alleged contractual obligations and debts to the
OVC to the extent that their actions were not sanctioned or authorized
by JSU.
Thus, the OVC's complaint is clear that its claims against Jones
and Killingsworth were pleaded in the alternative: either Jones's and
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Killingsworth's actions were ministerial in their official capacities or
their actions were taken in their individual capacities and done willfully,
maliciously, intentionally, in bad faith, beyond their authority, or under
a mistaken interpretation of law. In other words, the OVC's official-
capacity and individual-capacity claims against Jones and Killingsworth
arose from the same conduct, and Jones and Killingsworth could be
acting in only one of those capacities when committing their acts or
omissions. We already have concluded in Part A of the "Analysis" portion
of this opinion that the OVC's official-capacity claims against Jones and
Killingsworth were not barred by State immunity because the OVC
alleged that it sought legally required payments from JSU. Jones and/or
Killingsworth could authorize such payments on JSU's behalf only in
their official capacities. Therefore, because Jones and Killingsworth were
acting in their official capacities with respect to their alleged conduct,
they could not also be liable for the same conduct in their individual
capacities. In other words, as Jones and Killingsworth argue, they owed
no duties to the OVC in their individual capacities with respect to the
conduct alleged by the OVC. See, e.g., Ex parte Pinkard, ___ So. 3d at ___
(explaining that "Barnhart's logic may have ultimately led to a correct
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result (dismissal), but it did so for the wrong reason. Barnhart correctly
understood that the [ASSEC] employees' individual-capacity claims were
nonstarters because the [ASSEC] officers obviously owed no duty in their
individual capacities to pay the employees.").
Moreover, as Jones and Killingsworth observe, although the OVC
"use[d] the 'magic words' to allege an individual-capacity claim," i.e.,
alleged that Jones's and/or Killingsworth's actions were taken willfully,
maliciously, intentionally, in bad faith, beyond authority, or under a
mistaken interpretation of law, the factual allegations in the OVC's
complaint do not support those allegations. Jones and Killingsworth's
brief, p. 36. This Court has observed:
"Although we are required to accept [the plaintiff's]
factual allegations as true at this stage of the proceedings, we
are not required to accept her conclusory allegations that [the
defendant] acted willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, or in bad
faith. Rather, to survive [the defendant's] motion to dismiss,
[the plaintiff] was required to plead facts that would support
those conclusory allegations. See Oxford Asset Mgmt., Ltd. v.
Jaharis, 297 F.3d 1182, 1188 (11th Cir. 2002) (noting, on
review of the dismissal of a complaint for failure to state a
claim, that '[t]he plaintiff's factual allegations are accepted as
true' but that 'conclusory allegations, unwarranted
deductions of facts or legal conclusions masquerading as facts
will not prevent dismissal')."
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Ex parte Gilland, 274 So. 3d 976, 985 n.3 (Ala. 2018). The facts provided
in the OVC's complaint provide no indication that Jones and/or
Killingsworth acted without JSU's authorization. Indeed, the allegations
indicate the exact opposite:
"32. On January 26, 2021, [JSU's] Board of Trustees
unanimously approved Resolution 621 authorizing President
Killingsworth 'to explore opportunities for [JSU] to join
another NCAA Division I athletic conference and if, in the
exercise of his good faith discretion, he believes a new
conference affiliation is in the best interest of [JSU], to enter
into such agreement and to take the necessary steps for [JSU]
to resign its membership in the OVC.'
"33. On February 3, 2021, [JSU] informed the OVC that
it intended to resign its OVC membership effective June 30,
2021. …"
In its reply brief, the OVC argues that the foregoing allegations
"provided factual bases for plausibly concluding [Jones and
Killingsworth] acted beyond their authority -- JSU officials agreed to the
exit fee provision on numerous occasions and JSU instructed …
Killingsworth to take all necessary steps to resign from the OVC." The
OVC's reply brief, p. 21. In other words, the OVC contends that
Killingsworth willfully failed to pay the conference-resignation fee even
though it was a "necessary step" for JSU to leave the OVC.
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There are at least two problems with that argument. First, in the
circuit court and in its appellate brief, the OVC contended that "payment
of the exit fee was one of the 'necessary steps for [JSU] to resign its
membership in the OVC' " and, thus, that "such payment was a
ministerial duty mandated by the JSU Board resolution." The OVC's
brief, p. 27. In other words, the OVC originally used the complaint's
allegation concerning Resolution 621 in support of its official-capacity
claims against Killingsworth, not in support of its individual-capacity
claims. The OVC's reply-brief argument is a new spin on its allegations;
thus, we need not consider it. See, e.g., Baldwin Cnty. Elect. Membership
Corp. v. City of Fairhope, 999 So. 2d 448, 458 n.12 (Ala. 2008)
("Arguments made for the first time in a reply brief are not properly
before this Court.").
The second problem with the OVC's new spin on its factual
allegations is that the OVC never alleged in its complaint that the JSU
Board of Trustees authorized Killingsworth to pay the conference-
resignation fee or to pay for the tickets the OVC provided JSU for the
2021 conference championship basketball tournament. In other words,
the OVC's argument adds details to its factual allegations that it never
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presented in its complaint. On the face of the OVC's complaint, there are
no factual allegations that support that Jones and/or Killingsworth acted
willfully, maliciously, intentionally, in bad faith, beyond authority, or
under a mistaken interpretation of law by not authorizing JSU to make
the payments the OVC seeks to recover. The OVC's failure to plead facts
that supported its conclusory individual-capacity claims against Jones
and Killingsworth constitute another reason that the OVC did not state
viable individual-capacity claims.
For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the circuit court did not
err in dismissing the OVC's individual-capacity claims against Jones and
Killingsworth.
IV. Conclusion
The OVC's claims against Jones and Killingsworth in their official
capacities seeking payment for the liquidated amount of the conference-
resignation fee described in Article 4.5.3 of the OVC Constitution and for
the value of the tickets JSU received for the OVC's 2021 conference
championship basketball tournament do not constitute claims against
the State, and, therefore, they are not barred by State immunity.
Accordingly, the circuit court erred in dismissing the OVC's official-
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capacity claims against Jones and Killingsworth. However, the OVC
failed to state individual-capacity claims against Jones and
Killingsworth for which relief could be granted because Jones and
Killingsworth lacked any duty apart from their official positions to make
the payments the OVC seeks to recover and because the OVC's complaint
did not supply the factual allegations necessary to support those
individual-capacity claims. Accordingly, we affirm the circuit court's
dismissal of the OVC's individual-capacity claims against Jones and
Killingsworth.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED.
Wise, Bryan, Sellers, and Stewart, JJ., concur.
Shaw, J., concurs specially, with opinion, which Cook, J., joins.
Mitchell, J., concurs specially, with opinion.
Parker, C.J., concurs in part and concurs in the result, with opinion.
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SHAW, Justice (concurring specially).
I fully concur with this Court's opinion. I write specially to note the
following.
I agree that the complaint filed by the Ohio Valley Conference ("the
OVC") failed to state a claim against Randall Jones and Don C.
Killingsworth, Jr., in their individual capacities. Any duty to pay the
OVC in this case was created by a contractual relationship between it
and Jacksonville State University ("JSU"). Such payment on JSU's
behalf would necessarily be performed by its agents, because JSU cannot
act except through agents. Cf. Townsend Ford, Inc. v. Auto-Owners Ins.
Co., 656 So. 2d 360, 363 (Ala. 1995) ("A corporation is a legal entity, an
artificial person, and can only act through agents."). Any performance by
JSU's agents, here Jones and Killingsworth, would be taken only in their
official capacities: "State officials act for and represent the State only in
their official capacities." Ex parte Dickson, 46 So. 3d 468, 474 (Ala. 2010).
Alternatively, and for that same reason, an injunction to require Jones
and Killingsworth to perform an official act in their individual capacities
is by law impossible: "[A] suit for injunctive relief against a State official
in his or her individual capacity would be meaningless." Id.48
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I further note that in its count for injunctive relief, the OVC sought
compensatory damages and attorneys' fees. To the extent that the OVC
sought injunctive relief relating to the remaining official-capacity claims,
the authority cited in the main opinion shows that compensatory
damages are barred by Art. I, § 14, Ala. Const. 1901 (Off. Recomp.). An
award of attorneys' fees is similarly barred. Ex parte Town of
Lowndesboro, 950 So. 2d 1203, 1211-12 (Ala. 2006).
Cook, J., concurs.
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MITCHELL, Justice (concurring specially).
I agree with Chief Justice Parker that our precedents clearly
establish that "a plaintiff's complaint does not have to plead facts to
support the exceptions to State-agent-immunity." ___ So. 3d at ___
(Parker, C.J., concurring in part and concurring in the result) (citing
Odom v. Helms, 314 So. 3d 220, 229 n.3 (Ala. 2020)). Nonetheless, I
understand the majority opinion today to be stating only that plaintiffs
who voluntarily inject the issue of State-agent immunity into a complaint
should take care to plead facts to support their position. In doing so, the
main opinion faithfully applies this Court's decision in Ex parte Gilland,
274 So. 3d 976 (Ala. 2018), which is not inconsistent with Odom in any
material respect. Moreover, because the main opinion is correct that
Randall Jones and Don C. Killingsworth, Jr., plainly "owed no duties to
the [Ohio Valley Conference ('the OVC')] in their individual capacities
with respect to the conduct alleged by the OVC," and that the OVC
therefore failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted, ___ So. 3d
at ___, I concur in full. I write specially only to emphasize that Odom
remains precedential and that courts in future cases must abide by its
holding that plaintiffs have no obligation to "anticipate a State-agent-
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immunity defense by pleading with particularity a [State-agent-
immunity] exception." 314 So. 3d at 229 n.3.
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PARKER, Chief Justice (concurring in part and concurring in the result).
I concur in the main opinion except for its alternative holding that,
to survive the State-agent-immunity ground in the motion to dismiss, the
complaint had to plead facts to support the exceptions to State-agent
immunity. That holding contradicts our soundly reasoned precedent.
We have repeatedly explained that a plaintiff's complaint does not
have to plead facts to support the exceptions to State-agent immunity.
See Odom v. Helms, 314 So. 3d 220, 229 n.3 (Ala. 2020); Harris v. Hicks,
[Ms. 1200717, Aug. 19, 2022] ___ So. 3d ___, ___ (Ala. 2022); Avendano v.
Shaw, [Ms. 1210125, Aug. 19, 2022] ___ So. 3d ___, ___ (Ala. 2022)
(plurality opinion). This rule flows directly from the procedural principles
governing motions to dismiss.
State-agent immunity is not an element of a claim; it is an
affirmative defense. See Burton v. Hawkins, [Ms. 1200825, Mar. 11,
2022] ___ So. 3d ___, ___ (Ala. 2022); Ex parte Coleman, 145 So. 3d 751,
753 (Ala. 2013); Ex parte Kennedy, 992 So. 2d 1276, 1279 (Ala. 2008).
When a defendant moves to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), Ala. R. Civ. P.,
for failure to state a claim, and bases the motion on an affirmative
defense, the defendant must show that the applicability of the defense is
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conclusively established by the complaint's own factual allegations. See
Ghee v. USAble Mut. Ins. Co., [Ms. 1200485, Mar. 31, 2023] ___ So. 3d
___, ___ (Ala. 2023); Crosslin v. Health Care Auth. of Huntsville, 5 So. 3d
1193, 1195 (Ala. 2008); Jones v. Alfa Mut. Ins. Co., 875 So. 2d 1189, 1193
(Ala. 2003). In other words, the defendant must show not that the
plaintiff has failed to "plead out of" the affirmative defense, but that the
plaintiff has (perhaps inadvertently) conclusively "pleaded into" the
affirmative defense. See generally 5 Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal
Practice and Procedure § 1276 (4th ed. 2015). If the motion to dismiss
argues that the plaintiff has done so, the plaintiff must then respond by
arguing why the complaint's allegations do not conclusively establish
that the affirmative defense applies. However, the plaintiff need not have
preemptively pleaded in the complaint facts to negate the affirmative
defense. See Ex parte Dan River, Inc., 794 So. 2d 386, 387 n.1 (Ala. 2000).
To require the plaintiff to have done so would reverse the procedural
burden on an affirmative-defense-based motion to dismiss.
Thus, on a motion to dismiss based on the affirmative defense of
State-agent immunity, "[t]he plaintiff need not [have] anticipate[d] a
State-agent-immunity defense by pleading with particularity a [State-
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agent-immunity] exception. [Rather], unless the inapplicability of all the
[State-agent-immunity] exceptions is clear from the face of the complaint,
a motion to dismiss based on State-agent immunity must be denied."
Odom, 314 So. 3d at 229 n.3; cf. Ex parte Butts, 775 So. 2d 173, 178
(denying mandamus relief from denial of motion to dismiss based on
State-agent immunity, because it was conceivable that one of the State-
agent-immunity exceptions applied); Ex parte Department of Mental
Health & Mental Retardation, 837 So. 2d 808, 813-14 (Ala. 2002) (same).
Indeed, a plaintiff need not plead the State-agent-immunity exceptions
at all; again, they are negations of an affirmative defense, not elements
of a claim.
This motion-to-dismiss procedure contrasts with the procedure on
a motion for a summary judgment based on an affirmative defense. In
the summary-judgment procedure, the defendant must initially submit
evidence and present argument showing that the affirmative defense
applies. See Rentz v. Grant, 934 So. 2d 368, 372 (Ala. 2006). The burden
then shifts to the plaintiff to present argument (and if necessary submit
evidence) showing that the affirmative defense does not apply. See id.What does this procedure look like when the affirmative defense is State-
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agent immunity? "[A] defendant must first make a prima facie showing
that, at the time of the conduct giving rise to the claim, he was an agent
of the State" and "that the claim is based on one or more of certain
categories of conduct by the agent." Odom, 314 So. 3d at 224; see Ex parte
Estate of Reynolds, 946 So. 2d 450, 452 (Ala. 2006) ("[A] State agent bears
the burden of demonstrating that the plaintiff's claims arise from a
function that would entitle the State agent to immunity.").
"If the defendant carries his burden of showing agency
and covered conduct, then the plaintiff must show either (1)
that non-immunity is required by the federal Constitution or
laws; the Alabama Constitution; or Alabama laws, rules, or
regulations enacted or promulgated to regulate a
governmental agency; or (2) that the agent 'act[ed] willfully,
maliciously, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond his or her
authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law.' "
Odom, 314 So. 3d at 224 (citation omitted); cf. Reynolds, 946 So. 2d at
452.
There are decisions of this Court, including today's main opinion,
that have operated on a premise that a complaint must preemptively
negate the State-agent-immunity defense by pleading facts to support an
exception. See Ex parte Gilland, 274 So. 3d 976, 982-86 (Ala. 2018); Ex
parte Wilcox Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 279 So. 3d 1135, 1145-46 (Ala. 2018)
("Wilcox I"); Ex parte Wilcox Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 285 So. 3d 765, 778-79
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(Ala. 2019) ("Wilcox II"). Each of those decisions has made one of two
errors: either (a) reversing the motion-to-dismiss procedural burden, see
Wilcox II; today's main opinion, or (b) conflating the motion-to-dismiss
procedure with the summary-judgment procedure, see Gilland; Wilcox I.
For the reasons I have explained, each of those decisions is incorrect and
should be overruled.
Here, the defendants failed to show that the complaint's allegations
conclusively established that none of the State-agent-immunity
exceptions applied. The defendants were not entitled to dismissal merely
because the plaintiff did not affirmatively plead facts to support one of
the exceptions. By faulting the plaintiff for failing to do so, the main
opinion ignores our soundly reasoned cases (which the plaintiff cites) and
joins the mistaken ones that are due to be overruled.
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