Ecclesia wants FOIA suit dismissed, sanctions

FAYETTEVILLE — The attorney for Ecclesia College says efforts to disqualify his law firm from an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit amounts to harassment and should be met with sanctions.

Arkansas legislators gave nearly $700,000 of taxpayers’ money to the private Christian college in Springdale from the state’s General Improvement Fund.

Jim Parsons’ lawsuit, originally filed Feb. 9 in Washington County Circuit Court, seeks documents from the school related to those grants.

The suit contends private organizations receiving public money, engaging in activities of public interest, carrying on work intertwined with a government body or receive grants to promote economic development are subject to the requirements of the state law.

Parsons, a former teacher and board member at the college who lives in Bella Vista, also contends Ecclesia’s recent claim to be a church rather than a college puts it in violation of the state Constitution by receiving state money.

Ecclesia contends the documents sought by Parsons can’t be released because they’re covered in a protective order issued by a federal judge hearing the corruption case of former state Sen. Jon Woods, Ecclesia President Oren Paris III and Randall Shelton Jr. Former state Rep. Micah Neal has already pleaded guilty for his role in a kickback scheme.

Joey McCutchen and Chip Sexton, attorneys for Parsons, filed a motion seeking to disqualify Travis Story, Ecclesia’s attorney, and his law firm from the FOI suit. They claim state Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Berryville, a lawyer practicing in Story’s firm, sponsored two grants to Ecclesia.

The motion says Ballinger and other state senators and representatives were joint applicants for the grant money and could be called as witnesses, specifically whether they knew Ecclesia was designated as a church at the time.

The Parsons motion further claims Arkansas Rules of Professional Responsibility require the disqualification of Story and other members of his firm because Ballinger is a witness.

Story disputes the assertion in his latest filing, calling it a ruse by which to further harass the college.

“The question is not whether Representative Ballinger could be a witness, but whether he is a necessary witness. Defendant represents that he is not,” the filing says.

Story argues legislators only make recommendations for the distribution of the money and final decisions are made by the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District board.

“The fact that Representative Bob Ballinger made a recommendation for a small amount of GIF grant monies ($5,000) to be given to the defendant by the NWAEDD is a tangential issue to the intent of the plaintiff which is to act as a private investigator delving into financial activities for which individuals associated with defendant are under federal indictment,” Story wrote.

The filing says Ecclesia has already disclosed to the economic development district its Internal Revenue Service designation as a church so there’s no need to ask Ballinger if he was aware of the status when he recommended Ecclesia receive state money.

Story’s motion seeks sanctions and again seeks dismissal of the lawsuit.

Ecclesia’s receipt of the money entered the spotlight after Neal pleaded guilty in federal court Jan. 4 to taking a pair of kickbacks that totaled $38,000 for helping two entities receive grants through the state’s General Improvement Fund.

Woods has since been indicted on 11 counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of honest services mail fraud and one count of money laundering. Denying “honest services” by an elected official is a public corruption charge. Woods has pleaded not guilty.

Paris and Shelton, a consultant, also have been indicted on nine counts of honest services wire fraud each and one count of honest services mail fraud. Both have pleaded not guilty.