The Alabama Supreme Court has affirmed a Montgomery County judge’s order last year to dismiss a coach’s wrongful termination lawsuit against his former employer, Alabama State University (ASU).
In a majority decision, the high court affirmed the lower court, which had held that the contract that plaintiff Reggie Barlow had with ASU was not final, even though Barlow had signed it months earlier, until it had been approved by the full board of trustees.
After Barlow was fired in 2014, he retained attorney Donald Jackson, a well-known plaintiffs’ attorney in Alabama, who promised at the time that his client would sue the president, athletic director and board members for “terminating a legally valid contract.
“Coach Barlow’s non-renewal is the most recent act in a sad, pathetic history of institutional ineptitude by this university’s administration and board,” he said in a statement. “The recent criminal investigations, SACS investigation and removal of board members are further examples of the degree of incompetence and unconscionable dishonesty that have permeated the administration of this University for decades.”
Jackson added that, up until his firing, Barlow and his staff “performed extraordinarily well under trying circumstances, which included his inheriting NCAA sanctions, APR sanctions that resulted from the university’s failure to adequately fund the academic support system for student-athletes, repeatedly losing key players due to academic ineligibility resulting from the university’s failure to adequately fund the compliance department.”
Nevertheless, the courts turned to the black letter of the law, which left ASU officials understandably pleased.
“Alabama State University is very pleased at the court’s decision today that finds in favor of the university by dismissing the lawsuit filed against it,” they said in a statement. “The university was vindicated and absolved as the court concluded that all standard operating procedures were followed appropriately by the university.”
