Former FAMU Law Dean and tenured professor Percy Luney will finally get his day in court, seven months after his June 2005 suspension, and September 19, 2005 firing by Interim President Castell Bryant.
Luney and his attorney will go before an administrative law judge in Tallahassee on Feb. 7-8, who will determine whether Bryant had cause to discipline Luney. Luney's attorney Tom Broooks asserts that, "Luney doesn't think he did anything that deserves getting fired over."
FAMU placed Mr. Luney on administrative leave on June 7, 2005, and then terminated him after a payroll audit determined that a $1 million donor to the law school was given a $100,000 a year job that didn't require him to teach. Luney maintained at that time that Frederick Humphries and Fred Gainous, FAMU's former presidents, made the arrangement with the donor, not him. Mr. Luney stands by his story dispite the fact that Humphries had not been president since December 2001 and the $1 million donation was received in 2002, the same year that the law school received its first students.
In a June 10 letter to FAMU trustees, Luney wrote that his character was under fire and asked to present his side of the story to the full board as soon as possible. He never got that opportunity, because Bryant terminated him three months later.
The Orlando Business Journal details the entire affair beautifully (click here to read more -->)Law Dean to get his say
The administrative judge's recommendation will be presented to FAMU for a final order.
By not giving Luney a hearing prior to his dismissal, Bryant may have violated his constitutional rights.
Mr. Luney's is one of a growing number of wrongful termination lawsuits filed against the University under Bryant's watch. Former employees of the Institute of Urban Policy and Commerce have filed a class action law suit against the University.
Although I believe that Luney is a slime ball and did not come clean for his part in the debacle; he still was entitled to due process.
ReplyDeleteDue process is important; however, Mr. Luney really screwed things up at the law school. Although, he's been around the legal education community for decades, he hired professors with questionable academic and professional backgrounds (very few have actually practiced law in the private or government sectors). The "Founding Faculty" is comprised mostly of his close friends whom he rewarded with 6 figure salaries that are among the highest at FAMU. One senior professor (his former secretary at North Carolina Central), in particular, has never published an article in a reputable law journal (she cites JET Magazine). Mr. Luney refused to implement a law school advisory committee comprised of local attorneys. The law school remains understaffed with very few qualified law professors. Neither Mr. Luney, nor the "Founding Faculty" sought to continue in the legacy of excellence left by the likes of Gwen Cherry, John Due, Alcee Hastings, etc. His actions show disrepect for the unique heritage of the Florida A & M University and the African American legal community.
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