Texas judge dismisses John Chavis' lawsuit against LSU
A state district judge in Texas has dismissed the lawsuit Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis filed against his previous employer, LSU.
Texas judge Travis Bryan III tossed the case on grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction to preside over the matter and instead sent it back to Baton Rouge where LSU had filed suit against Chavis for breach of contract.
According to the Advocate newspaper, LSU considered this action a significant victory because the matter will have to be decided in what is essentially LSU’s territory.
“LSU is very happy with the result, and we believe it is the correct result,” said Bob Barton, a lawyer representing LSU, told the Advocate.
In late February, LSU and Chavis filed lawsuits against each other. LSU claimed Chavis owed the school $400,000 for breach of contract. Chavis filed suit in Bryan, Texas asking a judge to decide the matter. That was the case that was sent back to Baton Rouge. Chavis later added to the lawsuit claiming LSU owes him an extra $205,000 in unpaid vacation and incentives.
The issue is the timing of Chavis taking the job with Texas A&M. Chavis claims that he gave his 30-day notice on Jan. 5 and his last day was Feb. 4. If Chavis left after Jan. 31, he would not owe the buyout.
A&M officially announced Chavis’ hiring on Feb. 13, though coach Kevin Sumlin mentioned it during his national signing day press conference on Feb. 4. However, LSU claims Chavis was actively working for A&M during the month of January and points to photos of Chavis with recruits and wearing A&M gear that appeared on social media. Dr. Saturday broke the news of Chavis' hiring on Dec. 31.
Jill Craft, Chavis’ attorney in the Louisiana case, told the Advocate coaches and administrator could be deposed during the football season.
“We are looking forward to proving that coach Chavis never had a contract with LSU, and whatever he signed was altered by the Board of Supervisors after he signed it. Any first-year law student can tell you that means there is no contract,” Craft said. “In that regard, unfortunately, we will have to take the depositions of those on the coaching staff and athletic department who were involved as well as the Board of Supervisors. Given our schedules, I would anticipate those depositions to occur some time in the fall.”
For more LSU news, visit TigerBait.com.
For more Texas A&M news, visit AggieYell.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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