Banks v. Jones
575 S.W.3d 111
| Ark. | 2019Background
- Sharon Jones, a Black woman, was terminated from employment at the ADC Varner Unit in 2013 and sued Jimmy Banks (warden) in his official and individual capacities alleging racial and gender discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Arkansas Constitution.
- Jones sought injunctive/declaratory relief against Banks in his official capacity and monetary relief (compensatory, punitive, reinstatement, front pay) against him in his individual capacity.
- Jones's complaint alleged disparate treatment of minority women generally and identified other terminated employees, but did not plead factual circumstances surrounding her own termination or how she was similarly situated to nonprotected employees.
- Banks moved to dismiss asserting sovereign immunity (official-capacity), and qualified and statutory immunity (individual-capacity); the circuit court denied dismissal and this interlocutory appeal followed.
- The Arkansas Supreme Court reviewed de novo whether immunity barred suit and concluded Jones’s pleadings were conclusory and failed to plead facts sufficient to avoid sovereign, qualified, or statutory immunity.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether sovereign immunity bars official-capacity claims | Jones seeks injunction/declaratory relief to remedy unconstitutional discrimination; exception for illegal/ultra vires acts applies | Banks contends official-capacity relief would control State action and is barred by Art. 5 § 20 sovereign immunity | Held: Official-capacity claims barred by sovereign immunity; Jones failed to plead facts to invoke illegal/ultra vires exception |
| Whether Jones pleaded facts sufficient to invoke the ultra vires/illegal exception to sovereign immunity | Jones alleges a pattern/practice of racial and sexual discrimination by Banks | Banks argues allegations are conclusory; complaint lacks facts about Jones’s termination or specific unconstitutional acts | Held: Complaint is conclusory; does not meet fact-pleading standard to invoke exception |
| Whether qualified immunity bars Section 1983 individual-capacity claims | Jones alleges constitutional deprivation (employment discrimination) based on race/gender | Banks asserts qualified immunity; plaintiff must plead facts showing violation of clearly established rights | Held: Jones failed to plead facts establishing any constitutional violation; qualified immunity applies |
| Whether statutory immunity bars state-law claims against Banks in his individual capacity | Jones argues alleged discrimination is malicious and not covered by statutory immunity | Banks argues Ark. Code § 19-10-305 immunity applies absent malice; complaint contains no factual allegations of malice | Held: Statutory immunity applies; Jones did not plead facts to show malice |
Key Cases Cited
- Williams v. McCoy, 2018 Ark. 17 (treat pleadings as true on sovereign-immunity interlocutory appeal)
- Ark. Tech. Univ. v. Link, 341 Ark. 495 (complaint must plead facts to overcome sovereign-immunity defenses)
- Ark. Lottery Comm’n v. Alpha Mktg., 2013 Ark. 232 (recognizing exception where state acts illegally/unconstitutionally/ultra vires)
- Grine v. Bd. of Trs., 338 Ark. 791 (official-capacity suits are suits against the State; sovereign immunity bars such suits)
- Ark. State Med. Bd. v. Byers, 2017 Ark. 213 (statutory-immunity analysis parallels qualified-immunity framework)
- Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (qualified-immunity two-prong framework)
- McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (burden-shifting framework for employment-discrimination claims)
- Clegg v. Ark. Dep’t of Corr., 496 F.3d 922 (applying McDonnell Douglas to § 1983 employment-discrimination claims)