Robert Bentley’s campaign seeks to dismiss Spencer Collier lawsuit

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley‘s campaign attorneys are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency chief Spencer Collier in the aftermath of the latter’s termination.

The governor’s lawyers argued in a motion filed Monday morning that the lawsuit’s allegations are too “vague” and “ambiguous.”

Spencer Collier, who accused Bentley of having an affair with former senior advisor Rebekah Mason the day after he was fired, said in the lawsuit that Bentley and Mason made misleading statements to the media in an effort to 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 statement regarding the lawsuit.

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.

The two-page filing is the only response to the lawsuit thus far submitted by any of its defendants.

“The only basis of the complaint against this defendant appears to be the allegations that defendant Mason is an agent or servant of this defendant,” Bentley for Governor, Inc.’s lawyers wrote in the two-page document. “Said allegations in this regard are insufficient and not in accordance with the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure.

“The complaint is so general, vague and/or ambiguous that Defendant cannot reasonably frame or file a responsive motion and/or pleading. Plaintiff has failed to provide sufficient factual descriptions of the alleged actions by this Defendant.”

The lawsuit and Monday’s motion were filed in Montgomery Circuit Court.

The governor has maintained his own innocence throughout the months following Collier’s allegations. Efforts to impeach Bentley have thus far fallen short, facing opposition in the Alabama Legislature.