Judge sets March trial date for suit against former-Gov. Robert Bentley

0
16
Robert Bentley and Spencer Collier

Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin has set a March trial date for a lawsuit filed against former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley by his former law enforcement chief Spencer Collier.

According to the Associated Press, the trial is set for March 4. There, Collier’s team will argue he was wrongly fired by Bentley.

The suit was filed in April 2016. The day after Collier was fired he accused Bentley of having an affair with an adviser Rebekah Mason. He alleges that Bentley and Mason made misleading statements to the media in an attempt to try and discredit him.

“Their lies have hurt me financially, have severely damaged my reputation and they have made it their mission to permanently end my career in law enforcement,” Collier said in a 2016 statement.

The lawsuit named four other defendants besides the Bentley campaign (Bentley for Governor, Inc.) Gov. Bentley himself, new ALEA Secretary Stan Stabler, Rebekah Mason, and the group through which she was paid, the Alabama Council for Excellent Government.

Bentley ultimately resigned in April 2017, following allegations he used state resources to cover up an affair with Mason. Nevertheless, he continues to maintain his innocence saying Collier was fired with “cause.”