Jack Confer, the former Executive Director of the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, filed a lawsuit against the Board in December and that matter is still pending in Shawnee County District Court.

Confer took the job in July 2008 to lead the Kansas agency that regulates doctors. Confer followed Larry Buening, who resigned in Apr. 2008 after criticism from the legislature for mishandling cases.

Legal documents obtained Tuesday from the district court provide some information about the case.

Confer’s Petition for Judicial Review gave this timeline resulting in a breach in the agreement by the Board via the Attorney General’s office:

1. On Oct. 19, Board President Dr. Michael Beezley requested Confer’s resignation.
2. Confer verbally resigned in a telephone call on Oct. 20.
3. The Board advised Confer on Oct. 26 to seek counsel regarding negotiations.
4. The Board accepted Confer’s resignation on Oct. 28 and granted Dr. Beezley the authority to negotiate a “Final Agency Action” with Confer.
5. The Board made a counteroffer on Nov. 6 to allow three months paid leave and benefits. Confer agreed to the “material terms of the agreement” but wanted to further define terms about proprietary information the next week.
6. On Nov. 11 Confer sent the Board a draft of an agreement with changes that had been discussed.
7. On Nov. 16, without addressing draft of agreement, the Board informed Confer that the matter had been transferred to the Attorney General’s Office.
8. On Nov. 19 the Board through the AG’s office breached the agreement and “purported to revoke all terms that had been agreed upon.”

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John Confer v. Kansas Board of Healing Arts: Petition for Judicial Review –

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The petition asked the court to reverse the Board’s Nov. 20 action and grant Confer the agreement from Nov. 6.

In late October the Lawrence Journal World reported “State Board of Healing Arts won’t say why former director left.”  At that time board members, and even Gov. Mark Parkinson, had no comments about the departure.

The Kansas Watchdog attempted to contact Confer on Tuesday but his phone message mailbox was full. In October the Topeka Capital-Journal was unable to contact Confer about his resignation.

Nothing is known about a motion on Jan. 7  filed under seal by the Board.

Other documents filed with the court on Jan. 7 and Feb. 3 show a conflict in positions about 16 documents.

The Board’s Jan 7 Notice of Filing of Agency Record gives a list of 16 documents.

Confer’s Feb 3 Motion to Modify Agency Record claims many of the Agency Record documents should not be allowed since they were not the basis for the Board’s action and were not required by law to be part of the filing.

Confer’s motion then asked

“to include public comments that Dr. Beezley made to the public stating that Confer would be receiving a severance package comparable to the one of his predecessor.”

A Kansas City Star article on Oct. 28 addressed this proposed severance: “Healing arts board to negotiate severance with director who resigned suddenly”:

Beezley said Confer has been offered a generic severance. Confer’s predecessor received a severance when he resigned, Beezley said.

The board’s attorney, Scott Hesse, said details of the severance would be released once the negotiations are completed.

The mystery surrounding Confer s exit has irked lawmakers who say the reasons for Confer’s abrupt departure should be made public.

In an Oct. 22 press release, Kansans for Life speculated that the reason for Confer’s departure was related to investigations of post-viable abortions allegedly performed by associates of the late Dr. George Tiller in Wichita at Tiller’s clinic. This claim cannot be investigated since Board members will not talk about Confer’s departure.

The Board held a hearing about the Tiller matter on Oct 16. On Oct 23 the Board issued its final order and dismissal of a complaint against Dr. Tiller.  Confer’s resignation was on Oct. 20.

According to online district court records, the next action in the Confer case against the Board will be on Feb. 26.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office and Confer’s attorney, Jessica Garner, have not replied to E-mail requests for comments.

An open records request by the Kansas Watchdog about this matter is pending with the Board.

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Court Documents

• Petition for Judicial Review, Dec 7, 2009, 4 pages.
• Notice of Filing of Agency Record, Jan 7, 2010, 2 pages.
• Motion to Modify Agency Record, Feb 3, 2010, 7 pages.

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Related

• Former KBHA boss files suit, Topeka Capital-Journal, Feb, 17, 2010.
• State Board of Healing Arts won’t say why former director left, Lawrence Journal-World, Oct 28, 2009.
• Healing arts director resigns, Topeka Capital-Journal, Oct 22, 2009.
• Arizona regulator takes Kansas job, Lawrence Journal-World, June 26, 2008.

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 Contact: Earl F Glynn, earl@kansaswatchdog.org, KansasWatchdog.org