COLE COUNTY -- Cole County Judge Richard Callahan this morning heard evidence and arguments in a civil suit brought by a man barred from doing business with the state for employing illegal workers.

Kwaebena Asamoah-Boadu owned Sam's Janitorial Service.

A naturalized American citizen with a master's degree in business from the University of Oklahoma, Asamoah-Boadu is suing the state for breach of contract.

In March of 2007, then-Gov. Matt Blunt cancelled the state's contracts with the company when an after-hours raid of state offices rounded up a number of custodial workers with improper or forged documents.

A lawyer for Sam's said the company had a record of checking workers for legal status.

Dave Moen also said state law at the time set the maximum penalty for violators at twenty percent of the contract and a two-year suspension from state work.

Moen said Blunt's executive order effectively black-listing Asamoah-Boadu exceeded that law and ruined his client.

"He went from earning a $150,000 a year to nothing on March 6 of 2007 solely because the governor and the office of administration decided they wanted to invent a new rule,” Plaintiff's Attorney Dave Moen said.

The state argues that the worker round-up provided of enough reasonable suspicion of wrong-doing for blunt to act.

Otherwise, the attorney general's office said the most Sam's could recover under the law is 30 days lost income, not the two and half years of income sought by the plaintiff.