FILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court STATE OF MICHIGAN IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF OTTAWA ADELINE HAMBLEY, Case No: 23-_7180__-cz Plaintiff, Hon, JON H. HULSING : OTTAWA COUNTY, a Michigan County; and JOE MOSS, SYLVIA RHODEA, LUCY EBEL, GRETCHEN COSBY, REBEKAH CURRAN, ROGER BELKNAP, and ALLISON MIEDEMA, Ottawa County Commissioners in their individual and official capacities, Defendants. COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND There is no other civil action between these parties arising out of the same transaction or occurrence as alleged in this Complaint pending in this court, nor has any such action been previously filed and dismissed after having been assigned to a judge. MPLAINT Plaintiff Adeline Hambley, by and through her attomeys, Pinsky Smith, PC, states as follows: JURISDICTION, VENUE, AND PARTIES 1. This is an action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, and seckingFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court a remedy for the common law tort of termination in violation of public policy. 2, Plaintiff Adeline Hambley is employed as the Health Officer for Ottawa County, where she currently leads the County Health Department. Plaintiff has worked for the County Health Department in Ottawa County for the past 18 and a half years. Defendant Ottawa County (“the County”) is the seventh largest county within the State of Michigan. 4. Defendant Joe Moss is a resident of the County and is a member of the County Board of Commissioners 5. Defendant Sylvia Rhodea is a resident of the County and is a member of the County Board of Commissioners. 6. Defendant Lucy Ebel is a resident of the County and is a member of the County Board of Commissioners 7. Defendant Gretchen Cosby is a resident of the County and is a member of the County Board of Commissioners. 8. Defendant Rebekah Curran is a resident of the County and is a member of the County Board of Commissioners. 9. Defendant Roger Belknap is a resident of the County and is a member of the County Board of Commissioners. 10. Defendant Allison Miedema is a resident of the County and is a member of the County Board of Commissioners.FILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Cour 11. The acts that are the subject of this action occurred in Ottawa County, ‘Michigan. 12, The amount in controversy exceeds $25,000, exc attorney fees, and the matter is otherwise within the jurisdiction of this Court. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS 13. As Health Officer for the County, Plaintiff Hambley leads the Ottawa County Health Department. Michigan law requires the County to maintain a health department run by a health officer (hereinafter “Health Officer”). See MCL, 383.1101 ef seq. The Health Officer position is one whose duties and powers are enumerated by Michigan law. See MCL 333.2428. 14, As Health Officer for the Ottawa County Health Department, Plaintiff is the ultimate supervisor for more than 100 employees carrying out a wide variety of duties and programs. 15. The Health Officer's duties under state law include the power to take certain actions, issue orders, and make determinations necessary “to protect the public health and prevent disease.” See MCL 333.2428. 16. Michigan law also requires the County's Health Officer “to possess professional qualifications for administration of a local health department as prescribed by the [state] department [of health and human services].” MCL 3.2.428(1). 17. Subsection (2) of MCL 333.2433 lists the specific duties of local health departments. MCL 333.2433(3) provides that “[t}his section does not limit theFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court powers or duties of a local health officer otherwise vested by law.” 18. By virtue of the duties and powers assigned to the Health Officer position under state law, and the inability of the county board to override certain actions and orders of the Health Officer, the position is necessarily one which is subject to just cause employment. It violates state law for a county board to terminate the employment of a Health Officer without just cause and for the sole purpose of thwarting the Health Officer's ability to comply with state law governing her duties. 19. On January 3, 2023, the first meeting of the 2023-23 term for Ottawa County Commi: sumed office. Defendants Moss, Rhodea, Ebel, Cosby, Curran, Belknap, and Miedema (collec ely, “the Individual Defendant Commissioners”) we en of those eight new commissioners. 20. After the commissioners were sworn into office for the 2023-24 term, Defendant Miedema made a motion to demote Plaintiff Hambley to “Interim” Health Officer, in favor of the hiring of Nathaniel Kelly as Health Officer. Upon information and belief, this motion was part of an overall political strategy the Individual Defendant Commissioners orchestrated prior to taking office. The motion to demote Plaintiff was not on the public agenda posted prior to the meeting. The Individual Defendant Commissioners voted to approve the motion 21. ‘The demotion of Plaintiff to “Interim” Health Officer was a constructive termination of her employment as the Health Officer for the County. 22. By their public statements, Defendants have made clear thatFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court Plaintiff's actual termination as the Health Officer, and po: termination from her county employment, is imminent. 23. Plaintiff continues to act as the “Interim” Health Officer because — upon information and belief — Defendants have so far failed to begin the employment of Mr. Kelly as the Health Officer. To date, upon information and belief, Defendants have not submitted Mr. Kelly's alleged credentials for the position to the state department of health and human services, as required under state law, 24. Upon information and belief, on or about January 30, 2023, within its Human Resources Defendants have begun the internal County procs department necessary to begin Mr. Kelly’s employment with the County. 25. Plaintiff has never resigned her appointment as the Ottawa County Health Officer. Defendants never posted the position of Health Officer after they assumed office on the county board of commissioners, nor did they observe any standard and customary county hiring practices, like taking applications or holding interviews with candidates for the position that were open to the public. 26. Instead, the Individual Defendant Commissioners selected Mr. Kelly as their favored choice for the Health Officer in secret meetings not open to the public, and without any public process for vetting him as a candidate for the Health Officer position 27. ‘The Health Officer position is not subject to at-will termination as a matter of Michigan law. Plaintiff, as the Health Officer, can only be terminatedFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court upon a finding of cause, after notice of the alleged cause and a hearing, 28. Defendants did not, and do not, have just cause for terminating and/or demoting Plaintiff, nor did Defendants provide notice of alleged jus hearing on any allegations related to Plaintiff's job performance. 29. Instead, Defendants’ reasons for demoting Plaintiff were not based on just cause, Defendants’ reasons for demoting Plaintiff and announcing the hiring of Mr. Kelly instead were philosophical and political, because Defendants oppose the exercise of many of the Health Officer’s statutory powers under state law to initiate orders and other actions for protection of the public health. 30. Upon information and belief, Defendants may continue to employ Plaintiff in a demoted position for the purpose of carrying out various state law- required reporting and other similar ministerial and clerical statutory duties of the Health Officer position, without any of the oversight or decision-making authority which resides with the “Health Officer” under state law, which they intend to hand over to Mr. Kelly. 31. Upon information and belief, if Defendants continue to employ Plaintiff, it will be in a demoted, mostly ministerial and clerical, position so that the Ottawa County Health Department falsely appears to function with Mr. Kelly at the helm with some semblance of competence and statutory compliance, even though Mr. Kelly lacks relevant and necessary professional experience to perform the Health Officer role. 32. Defendants have also taken steps to interfere with and preventFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court Plaintiff from carrying out her statutory duties. Upon information and belief, this is part of a strategy either to manufacture alleged cause to criticize Plaintiff performance of her duties and/or to manufacture political controversy. 33. For example, on February 9, 2023, Plaintiff responded to a press inquiry, with the assistance of the Health Department’s communications officer, about a news media story on a Grand Valley State University student event planned to coincide with a Health Department monthly testing clinic at the GVSU campus for sexually-transmitted infections (“STIs”). A conservative internet blog and Defendant Moss made public statements inferring that the student event was an example of something unseemly that the Health Department was sponsoring. As is a common part of the Health Officer's duties, Plaintiff clarified when asked by local news media that the Health Department was not sponsoring the event. Plaintiff's public statement as the Health Officer clarified that the organizers of the GVSU student event chose to host their gathering seeking to, apparently, provide sexual health information to college students and marketed it as happening alongside the Health Department's monthly STI testing clinic. Plaintiff's statement also provided information about the Health Department's initiative to prevent STIs in the County. 34, The day before her public statement, on February 8, 2023, as is also her common practice, Plaintiff provided a courtesy advisory about this issue to John Gibbs, the new County Administrator installed by the Individual Defendant Commissioners. Mr. Gibbs did not respond to Plaintiff's alert about this.FILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court 35. When Plaintiff's public statement was released on February 9, 2023, ‘Mr. Gibbs emailed and ordered that the statement be retracted because he did not approve of the statement or its release. 36. On February 10, 2023, Mr. Gibbs spoke to Plaintiff and was very upset, reprimanded her for not obtaining prior approval from him to release a statement, said the statement was not truthful, and that there “would be consequences.” Plaintiff respectfully advised Mr. Gibbs that she disagreed with retracting the statement and stated why she believed her statement was true and appropriate. 37. Mr. Gibbs responded by accusing a Health Department employee of being involved with the GVSU student sexual health event and wanting an investigation conducted. When Plaintiff responded that she believed that the employee that Mr. Gibbs was accusing participated (if at all) on her own personal time, Mr. Gibbs’ response was: “I don’t give a fuck if it was done in a personal capacity or not.” Plaintiff believes that Mr. Gibbs’ insistence on an “investigation” could be an attempt to fire this employee for potentially volunteering for the event on his/her personal time. 38. This is not the first time that Mr. Gibbs and the Individual Defendant Commissioners have advised Plaintiff that she will be required to “name names,” so to speak. On January 30, 2023, the Individual Defendant Commissioners advised Plaintiff during a public meeting that Plaintiff would be required to identify individual Health Department employees who have followed prior instructions on programs with which the Individual Defendant Commissioners disagree — with theFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court apparent intent of requiring discipline and/or termination of those employees 39. _ Ineffect, Defendants are attempting to micromanage Plaintiff in the performance of the Health Officer duties, even though state law provides the Health Officer with duties and powers specifically free of this type of interference for particular policy reasons. 40. ‘These actions of Defendants unlawfully and significantly interfere with Plaintiff's ability to carry out the duties and statutory powers of the Health Officer. COUNT I — DECLARATORY RELIEF AGAINST ALL DEFENDANTS 41. Plaintiff relies on the allegations of all prior paragraphs, as if they were restated herein. 42. Plaintiff seeks a declaration from the Court that, under Michigan law, she remains the Health Officer for Ottawa County without any “Interim” designation or demotion. 43. Plaintiff seeks a declaration from the Court that, under Michigan law, Defendants may remove her from the position of Health Officer only upon: (1) the existence of just cause to terminate her employment as Health Officer: (2) the provision of notice of all fact allegations constituting alleged just cause to remove her from the position; and (8) the opportunity for a public hearing to adjudicate same. 44, — Plaintiff seeks a declaration from the Court that, under Michigan law, Nathaniel Kelly is not the Health Officer for Ottawa County and that Defendants may not appoint him to a position which will render him the de facto “Health Officer” for Ottawa County as a replacement for Plaintiff even if Defendants continue toFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court employ Plaintiff to perform some of the functions of the Health Officer position at the same time. 45. An ual controversy exists as to the forgoing questions of Michigan law, and Plaintiff will suffer actual harm and damages without resolution of these legal questions through issuance of declaratory relief. RELIEF SOUGHT WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that the Court grant the following relief: ‘A. _ Reinstate Plaintiff to her position as Ottawa County's Health Officer, without the “Interim” designation: B. Declare that: (1) Plaintiff remains the Health Officer for Ottawa County without any “Interim” designation or demotion; C. Declare that: Defendants may remove her from the position of Health Officer only upon: (a) the existence of just cause to terminate her employment as Health Officer: (b) the provision of notice of all fact allegations constituting alleged just cause to remove her from the position; and (c) the opportunity for a public hearing to adjudicate same. D. Declare that: Despite the vote on January 3, 2023 by Defendants, Nathaniel Kelley is not the Health Officer for Ottawa County and that Defendants may not appoint him to a position which will render him the de facto “Health Officer” for Ottawa County as a replacement for Plaintiff; 10FILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court E. Award Plaintiff punitive damages: F. Award Plaintiff costs and reasonable attorney fees; and G. Award Plaintiff such other relief as may be just and equitable. T I —IN, ER MCL 333.2: AGAINST ALL DEFENDANTS 46. Plaintiffs rely on the allegations of all prior paragraphs, as if they were restated herein. 47. Under MCL 333.2465(1), Plaintiff, as the Health Officer for Ottawa County, may seek an injunction to “restrain, prevent, or correct a violation of a law, rule, or order which the officer has the duty to enforce, or to restrain, prevent, or correct an activity or condition which the officer believes adversely affects the public health.” 48. Defendants have violated state law by demoting Plaintiff as aforesaid to “Interim” Health Officer with a stated plan to replace her with Nathaniel Kelly. 49. Plaintiff reasonably fears that she will be unable to carry out the duties required of the Health Officer under state law, even in an “Interim” designation, and that this state of affairs is a danger to the public health. In the event of a public health crisis requiring swift action, it is unlikely that Plaintiff would be able to obtain a legal remedy from this Court in time to respond and exercise her duties under Michigan law. RELIEF SOUGHT WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that the Court grant the following relief: aFILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court Ne at ance of both immediate temporary, and ultimately permanent, injunctive relief prohibiting Defendants from their demotion of Plaintiff to “Interim” county Health Officer: B. Award Plaintiff punitive damages: C. Award Plaintiff costs and reasonable attorney fees: and D. Award Plaintiff such other relief as may be just and equitable. COUNT III — TERMINATION IN VIOLATION OF PUBLIC POLICY AGAINST ALL DEFENDANTS 50. Plaintiffs rely on the allegations of all prior paragraphs, as if they were restated herein. 51. Defendants’ constructive termination of Plaintiff by demoting her to “Interim” Health Officer violated Michigan public policy because it unlawfully removed her as the Health Officer for all practice purposes, and also because it purported to subject Plaintiff's continued employment to the favor and pleasure of the county commissioners. This is violative of Michigan law which gives the Health Officer multiple independent powers and authority to take actions, make determinations, issue orders, and seek injunctions without the permission of or consultation with the local county board. 52. Michigan’s public policy as reflected in its public health code necessarily requires that the Health Officer have the autonomy necessary to carry out the statutory duties and authority granted by state law. Permitting Defendants’ constructive termination and/or demotion of Plaintiff to “Interim” Health Officer as 12FILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court violates Mic! aforesaid, and without just cause and appropriate due proce: ‘gan public policy. 58. By demoting and/or constructively terminating Plaintiff under the conditions as stated aforesaid, Defendants violated Michigan public policy, a common law tort under Michigan law. 54. Asa result of the foregoing, Plaintiff will or has lost earnings and benefits: has lost necessary authority to perform her job duties in compliance with state law without fear of retribution and retaliation; and has incurred mental anguish, emotional distress, unfair reputational damage, and legal costs for which Defendants are liable. RELIEF SOUGHT WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that the Court grant the following relief: A. Reinstate Plaintiff to her position as Ottawa County's Health Officer, without the “Interim” designation, with a preliminary and permanent injunction restraining Defendants from demoting Plaintiff as they have: B. Award Plaintiff economic and compensatory damages in an amount that would fully compensate Plaintiff for the injuries alleged herein resulting from the violation of common law: C. Award Plaintiff costs and reasonable attorney fees: D. Award Plaintiff such other relief as may be just and equitable. PINSKY SMITH, PC Attorneys for Plaintiff Dated: February 10, 2023 By: Sarah R, Howard 13,FILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court Sarah Riley Howard (P58531) 146 Monroe Center, N.W., Suite 418 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 451-8496 [email protected]FILED 2/13/2023 Justin F. Roebuck 20th Circuit Court JURY DEMAND To the extent that jury trial is available as to any of the issues s above, Plaintiff hereby demands same. PINSKY SMITH, PC Attorneys for Plaintiff Dated: February 10, 2023 By: {s/ Sarah R. Howard Sarah Riley Howard (P58531) 146 Monroe Center St NW, Suite 418 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 451-8496 [email protected] 15