Ex-FHSU professor files lawsuit against Fort Hays State, Brungardt

http://www.theonlineedge.net/12-07-07/31212070701.html

Zach Becker

Editor

Michael Kearns, a former professor of leadership studies at Fort Hays State University, has filed a lawsuit against both the university and Dr. Curt Brungardt, Voss Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies and director of the Center for Civic Leadership.

The lawsuit, filed in the district court of Ellis County this September, alleges that around September 12, 2005, Kearns was subjected to an “outrageous, malicious, willful and intentional emotional tirade” in which Brungardt “bitterly criticized and publicly ridiculed (Kearns)” and “inflicted severe and debilitating mental injuries” that left Kearns “physically disabled and damaged and unable to work.”

The lawsuit states that Kearns, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, was vulnerable to these mental injuries due to a long-standing military service-related medical condition.

However, Brungardt’s version on the situation paints a different story.

“We had an argument in a meeting,” Brungardt said. “He was talking about changing our curriculum and I said absolutely not – I said, after only being here a month or two, wait til you’ve been here a year or two… After the argument… we continued to work together and there were no issues. Disagreements in business meetings occur all the time. I saw nothing from him that illustrated him being disturbed. He wasn’t emotionally distraught at all until he got a letter denying him support of tenure.”

According to Brungardt, Kearns was denied tenure support at Fort Hays State by a 2-1 vote in early or mid November 2005, with Brungardt, the chair of the leadership tenure committee, one of the people voting against Kearns.

“After that occurred, I never saw him again,” Brungardt said. “He quit attending class, he quit coming to the office … I never saw him again.”

Kearns’ lawsuit alleges that Brungardt and other faculty at Fort Hays State intentionally used their prior knowledge of Kearns’ military service-related cardiovascular condition against him from that alleged September incident in 2005 through mid-December 2005.

According to the lawsuit, Kearns broke out in hives after the alleged September 2005 incident, as well as suffered “substantial emotional distress and mental anguish due to the event, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress, sleeplessness, depression and other mental and emotional problems.”

While Brungardt doesn’t deny that Kearns suffered some type of medical problem, he says that the medical issues did not occur after the argument at the previously-mentioned meeting, but rather after Kearns received the letter denying him a tenure track position.

“That’s the problem with his lie is that he’s partly correct,” Brungardt said. “He did have I think those (medical problems), but it occurred after he got the letter, not in an argument him and I had. And there are many cases where we worked together day in and day out afterwards.”

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $75,000 for “mental, emotional and physical damages, injuries, pain, suffering and mental anguish, disability, lost income, (and) medical/psychiatric expenses…”

Kearns is a military veteran and was injured in the line of duty in 1990. After rehabilitation, however, Kearns passed a physical in 1997 and returned to flying and skydiving.

Kearns taught at Fort Hays State during the fall 2005 semester before submitting his resignation at the end of that semester. Kearns’ lawsuit states that he is still suffering medical problems from the alleged September 2005 incident.

Brungardt expressed the opinion that Kearns’ lawsuit is an attempt to get back at him for voting to deny his tenure track position.

“I am the senior faculty in the department for tenure so I chaired that committee ... so who’s he going to blame,” Brungardt said. “Ever since that (tenure track rejection) letter went out, he’s come out with more things that aren’t even close to being the truth… He’s been mad at me and at Fort Hays State.

“This is the price I pay for doing leadership, for strongly believing he was not the right person for our department and for our university. And I was one of two people who voted against him. If I had to do it over again, I’d do the exact same thing.”

Caleb Boone, attorney for Kearns, declined comment on this story except to release the following statement: “The Plaintiff, Michael Kearns, believes in good faith in the merits of his claim. Mr. Kearns has filed his claim to recover just and fair compensation for injuries which he has suffered. He intends to pursue it to a successful conclusion.”

For Further Reference:

About Michael Kearns

About Curt Brungardt

Click here to view a PDF file of the lawsuit