Yavapai College has yet to announce a settlement; will taxpayers pay the costs? 

One has to wonder if the lawyers involved in the Hamilton v. Yavapai College whistleblowing lawsuit aren’t getting some pretty fat fees. Recall the Plaintiff Hamilton is the veteran who used to run the aviation program at Yavapai College and was fired. He then blew the whistle on the College and its failure to comply with Veterans Administration’s requirements regarding an 85/15 rule for Veterans. (Check out the lawsuit in the Blog index.) The lawsuit remains unsettled.

Listed below are the lawyers, their law firms, and the clients they represent. The Blog obtained the list from the Federal District Court order when the judge refused to dismiss a number of counts against the College. Amazing, isn’t it.
One also wonders whether there might be a conflict of interest when one firm represents several defendants in this lawsuit. Ummm?
Finally, who is paying for all this legal talent? Is it the taxpayers of Yavapai County? Wouldn’t it be nice if the College would send out that information?

Daniel Hamilton, Plaintiff, represented by Krista Michelle Carman, Warnock MacKinlay & Carman PLLC & Richard James Harris, Richard J Harris & Associates PC.
Yavapai Community College District, Defendant, represented by Elizabeth Ann Gilbert, Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC.
Yavapai Community College District, Defendant, represented by Georgia A Staton, Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC.
Yavapai Community College District, Defendant, represented by Steven Douglas Leach, Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC.
Guidance Academy LLC, Defendant, represented by Dan W Goldfine, Snell & Wilmer LLP,Donald Charles Zavala, Jr., Boyle Pecharich Cline Whittington, James Michael Gottry, Snell & Wilmer LLP & Joshua Grabel, Snell & Wilmer LLP.
John L Stonecipher, Defendant, represented by Dan W Goldfine, Snell & Wilmer LLP,Donald Charles Zavala, Jr., Boyle Pecharich Cline Whittington, James Michael Gottry, Snell & Wilmer LLP & Joshua Grabel, Snell & Wilmer LLP.
Amanda Alsobrook, Defendant, represented by Dan W Goldfine, Snell & Wilmer LLP,Donald Charles Zavala, Jr., Boyle Pecharich Cline Whittington, James Michael Gottry, Snell & Wilmer LLP & Joshua Grabel, Snell & Wilmer LLP.
John Morgan, Defendant, represented by Donald Peder Johnsen, Gallagher & Kennedy PA, Georgia A Staton, Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC & Steven Douglas Leach, Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC.
John Morgan, named as: husband on second amended complaint, Defendant, represented by Jodi Renee Bohr, Gallagher & Kennedy PA.
April Morgan, Defendant, represented by Donald Peder Johnsen, Gallagher & Kennedy PA, Georgia A Staton, Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC, Steven Douglas Leach, Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC & Jodi Renee Bohr, Gallagher & Kennedy PA.
United States of America, Movant, represented by Lon R Leavitt, US Attorneys Office &Todd Frederick Lang, US Attorneys Office.

Governing Board to review Hamilton’s 60 million dollar lawsuit in closed door session

The Yavapai Community College District Governing Board has scheduled a closed door session at its meeting on the Verde Campus in  Clarkdale on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the $60 million dollar lawsuit brought by the former Yavapai College Director of Aviation Programs Daniel Hamilton.   Hamilton is a professional aviator, a veteran and a decorated former F-16 fighter pilot who served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1997 to 2007. He reportedly started his job with Yavapai College in Sept. 6, 2011, and was terminated on or about May 31, 2012.

The lawsuit focuses on the helicopter pilot training that Yavapai College offers through Guidance Aviation. According to Hamilton’s lawyer, “One of the educational programs under the Post 9/11 GI Bill is a helicopter flight training/degree program.” Among the requirements of the program is that no more than 85 percent of the students in the program can be funded by the VA or by the educational institution.  “No new VA benefits are paid when the computation establishes that the 85/15 ratio is not satisfied.” His lawsuit alleges that Yavapai College and Prescott-based Guidance Aviation fraudulently took tuition money from the U.S. Veterans Administration’s Post-9/11 GI Bill, but did not comply with the program’s requirements. Along with the false claim allegations, Hamilton is also suing Yavapai College for wrongful termination under the False Claims Act whistleblower protection provisions and under state law.

Since the lawsuit was filed, the VA halted enrollment in the spring, 2015 in Yavapai College’s helicopter program. The program offered by Yavapai College,  along with Southern Utah University, was viewed as “one of most popular and expensive programs, which routinely charged more than $250,000 for a two-year course.”  See LA Times  story of June 27 by clicking here.  According to the Times, helicopter flight training companies were able to collect tens of millions of dollars a year through a loophole in the latest GI Bill “in part because officials didn’t enforce laws aimed at preventing abuse of veteran education benefits.” Click here for Times story. 

The VA sent a letter to the college this spring stating that the program did not meet the threshold of 15 percent of its enrollees being non-veterans. The GI bill states that any program it funds must be affordable enough that at least some students are willing to invest their own money, rather than being entirely funded by the federal government. All 90 students in the helicopter flight training program offered by Guidance Aviation through Yavapai are veterans, according to the letter. Helicopter training is the most expensive form of education paid for under the GI Bill. See March 23, 2015 Times story by clicking here.

The GI Bill  covers 36 months of tuition and fees for veterans in degree programs at public universities and colleges. It was thought, erroneously, that schools as would act as natural allies in controlling costs. Instead, some schools have used their newfound ability to offer veterans all-expenses-covered training in costly helicopters as a recruiting tool.  

Yavapai College also charges persons in the helicopter program about $660 per credit, rather than the $75 per credit it claims is the base tuition for courses.  Until the action by the VA, most of the credit fees and other costs were paid by the American taxpayer via the Veterans Administration.  

Amended $60 million dollar lawsuit brings back all defendants

That portion of a $60 million dollar lawsuit against Yavapai Community College and two other defendants brought by its former Director of Aviation in 2012, which was dismissed last month in Federal District Court, has essentially been reinstated with the filing of an amended complaint. Guidance Aviation, a corporate defendant, and its CEO, John Stonecipher, were dismissed on summary judgment from the case last month while Yavapai College remained a defendant. They are now apparently back in the lawsuit.

The former College Director of Aviation, Daniel Hamilton, alleges that he repeatedly warned college officials and Guidance Aviation “that they were violating VA regulations and that they were defrauding VA.” Hamilton also claims he urged Yavapai College to distance itself from Guidance, however, “In response, Yavapai College fired” him.

Hamilton alleges that the College violated the 85/15 rule, which states that no more than 85 percent of the students enrolled in the program can be funded by the VA or the school. Hamilton also alleges that he was wrongfully terminated and is seeking damages as a whistleblower.

In his amended complaint, Hamilton provides details including names of students, dates, and times.   He also alleges that Guidance Aviation’s attorney emailed the College lawyer, saying that Hamilton was an insurance liability and could cause the school’s policy to become void. This he claims was pressure being put on the College that resulted in his firing.

Mr. Hamilton is a professional aviator, a veteran and a decorated former F-16 fighter pilot who served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1997 to 2007. He started his job with Yavapai College on Sept. 6, 2011, and was terminated around May 31, 2012.
For more information, please read the Daily Courier story by Scott Orr that can be reached by clicking here.

Federal court dismisses Guidance Aviation and its CEO from $60 million dollar lawsuit filed by former Yavapai Community College Director of Aviation; College remains

The Federal District Court dismissed two defendants in the lawsuit brought by former Yavapai Community College’s Director of Aviation against the College. Guidance Aviation, a corporate defendant, and its CEO, John Stonecipher, were dismissed on summary judgment from the case. The College remains a defendant and the plaintiff’s lawyer says he will amend the original complaint.

The lawsuit was brought in September, 2012 by Mr. Daniel Hamilton, the former College Director of Aviation Programs. He alleges in his lawsuit that the college and Guidance Aviation, who had partnered to offer a helicopter flight training program, took tuition money from the U.S. Veteran’s Administration’s Post-9/11 GI Bill, but did not comply with the program’s requirements.

Mr. Hamilton is a professional aviator, a veteran and a decorated former F-16 fighter pilot who served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1997 to 2007. He started his job with Yavapai College on Sept. 6, 2011, and was terminated around May 31, 2012. For more details, please click here and the link will take you to the full story in the Verde Independent.