Harris pulls another lawsuit from his bag
Arkansas-side board member asks federal court to toss censure, alleges his rights have been violated
EDITOR’S NOTE: Quotes from the referenced lawsuits are published here as written.
Texarkana, Ark., Ward 3 Director Laney Harris is asking a federal court to declare the June 2017 censure of him by the city’s Board of Directors “null and void,” in a lawsuit filed last week.
Harris filed two lawsuits last week on his own behalf without the assistance of a lawyer. A complaint Harris filed in state court seeks damages from two private citizens, DeAnna O’Malley and James Zumwalt, for defamation.
The second suit, filed in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas, names as defendants the city, Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell and Harris’ fellow board members: Linda Teeters, Tim Johnson, Travis Odom, Barbara Miner and Terri Peavey in their official and individual capacities. The federal suit complains that the city, the mayor and fellow board members have infringed on Harris’ free speech, violated his right to due process and have conspired to damage his public
reputation. Harris specifically complains about a June 2017 censure letter he received from the board and his removal as a board representative from the city’s Advertising and Promotion Commission at the same time.
Harris declined to comment Monday.
Texarkana, Ark., City Attorney George Matteson said none of the defendants in the federal suit have been formally served with a copy of the complaint, though he has reviewed a copy.
“A copy of a 47-page document filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on June 5, 2018, by City Director Laney Harris, as Plaintiff, has been forwarded to me,” Matteson said. “The named Defendants, being the City of Texarkana, Ark., its Mayor and remaining Directors, will file specific responsive pleading if and when properly served with process. As a general matter, however, the City, and its Defendants, believe that the claims for relief contained in such document are without merit.”
The federal suit blames the city defendants for Harris’ loss of a seat on the Texarkana, Ark., School District board in a November 2017 election.
“While he were campaigning door to door for the school board position for re-election the plaintiff numerous times were asked about his removal from the A&P Commission and the censure by member of the community,” the federal complaint states. “Which he lost the position of the Texarkana, Ark., school board, Zone 5 an majority minority district on Nov. 7, 2017, due to the actions of the defendants.”
The suit does not mention that Harris won his party’s nomination for a justice of peace position this year on the Miller County Quorum Court. Harris will face a Republican opponent in the general election this fall.
The censure of Harris by the board came on the heels of a harassment complaint lodged against Harris on May 4, 2017, by a hearing impaired Texarkana, Ark., woman. The woman alleged that after she ended an intimate relationship with him, Harris began threatening to call police over a lawn mower the woman said was stolen from her yard. She complained that Harris used profanity to address her in front of her 8-year-old grandson, that Harris banged on her door and yelled for her to come outside, and that Harris was watching her house, according to a Texarkana, Ark., police report.
Harris complains that witnesses identified in the police report gave false statements and that no evidence, such as photographs or recordings, substantiate the harassment complaint. Harris was warned by Texarkana, Ark., police to stay away from the woman’s residence and informed that he is “banned” from her property.
“The TAPD has a policy and or practice of banning a person than the court system however this were only done to give a characterizes of wrongdoing toward the plaintiff and he was denied due process,” Harris’ federal complaint states. “This were used in conjunction to slanderous, libel the plaintiff reputation and the police report were used to ask the plaintiff to resign by three Texarkana, Ark., Board of Director members that the mayor had a copy of it during the meeting of May 15, 2017.”
Harris has denied harassing the woman and said there was no evidence he ever spent time watching her home, according to an earlier news article.
Harris accuses the board of being “quick to issues of vote to censure,” of targeting him for punishment and of intentionally causing him emotional distress.
“There was an conspiracy and willful intend to violate the civil rights and constitution rights of the plaintiffs (Harris) and retaliation and public humiliate him,” the federal complaint states.
While Harris complains he received no due process prior to the board’s vote to censure him, Harris admits he voluntarily walked out of an executive session of the board convened to address the proposed censure and refused to return.
“During executive on the regular meeting of the Board of Directors on May 15, 2017, the plaintiff was request to resign. The plaintiff was gangup by the other board members (defendants, Mayor Bell, Director Odom and Director Linda Teeters). Plaintiff also request that any matter shall be discuses in public,” the federal complaint states. “The plaintiff has not attended an Texarkana, Board of City Director executive section since then the meeting on May 15, 2017.”
Later in the complaint, Harris claims he “requested and were denied a name clearing hearing prior to the filing of this complaint,” though he doesn’t state when or to whom the alleged request was made.
In addition to violating his free speech and due process rights, Harris accuses the city defendants of defamation and of unjust enrichment.
“The reputation is the most value assets of a public figure. Its took the plaintiff over 20 years to attain and maintain a good reputation within his community,” the federal complaint states. “The defendants shall not be benefiting or enrich their standing in the community by willful and wanton damaging the reputation of another member of the community.”
Harris’ federal complaint addresses two other issues cited by officials at the time of his censure. Harris was accused of secretively taking photographs at the city’s RailFest event in May 2017 and of having a verbal altercation with Zumwalt, a RailFest volunteer who him.
Accounts of the alleged RailFest confrontation differ, but both Harris and Zumwalt agree that Zumwalt approached Harris at the festival, according to news articles.
Also, Harris is accused of conducting an unauthorized walk-through of the Boys and Girls Club building in April 2017. Harris’ complaint alleges the building tour was posted on his Facebook page and that city officials were aware of it.
Several city officials have previously taken exception to Harris’s account of how the Boys and Girls Club tour was authorized.
In prior interviews, PenneyBell stated that the main reason for Harris’ censure was the harassment complaint made by the hearing-disabled woman.
Harris is asking that a federal court declare the June 2017 censure “null and void,” and declare that the actions of the city defendants have violated the law.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey.