Seems they are going to appeal to the Texas supreme court. Anyone think Leach is dumb enough to spend a significant amount of his net worth on this lawsuit only to lose and never get another coaching job again? LUBBOCK, Texas -- An appeals court has thrown out former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach's breach of contract claim against the school over his 2009 firing. The ruling released Friday allows Leach to try to prove that the university's reasons for firing him were false, but without monetary relief. The 7th Court of Appeals upheld Tech's sovereign immunity claim. Leach's attorney plans to appeal the breach of contract claim to the Texas Supreme Court. A Texas Tech attorney did not immediately comment Friday. Texas Tech fired Leach on Dec. 30, 2009, two days after suspending him amid allegations he mistreated Adam James, a receiver with a concussion. James, the son of former NFL player and current ESPN analyst Craig James, has said Leach twice ordered him to stand for hours while confined in a dark place during practice. Leach denies mistreating James, and suspects an $800,000 bonus he was to have received Dec. 31, 2009, was the reason he was fired. He also has filed a separate libel suit accusing ESPN and a Dallas PR agency of slander. Leach, who is living in Key West, Fla., spent this season working as a game analyst for CBS College Sports. He also hosts a sports talk radio show on Sirius.
There is a difference between him getting ****** and his ability to f**k back. Sovereign immunity means "It's good to be the King" (as if Tech is king of anything other than sandy tumbleweeds) and that means the king can kill his subjects without fear of, well, the king's wrath. What will happen to his case will depend more on the broader issue of sovereign immunity and not whether he got ******. The case will be decided on conservative republican ideals that will want the conservative republican Texas government to have freeish reign to deal with PUBLIC employees as they choose. Leach deserves his money. Tech is ****. Texas Supreme Court will rule that no one person is more important than the whole state (won't open doors for ANYONE else to sue state). Leach won't get his money. Tech will still be a bunch of redneck ****. A court that had a penchant for fairness would figure out a wat to help Leach and the current court will choose "stability" in the rule. Sovereign Immunity literally translates to the king doesn't owe you ****. Not even an explanation. There are plusses and minuses to working for the great state of texas.
The Texas Supreme Court is a court of discretionary review and can take whatever cases it wants. Currently, the court grants review for about 10-12% of the cases before it -- not great odds. While the case might be interesting enough for some of the justices, the court could decline review if it doesn't present any novel legal issue. And OU sucks.
Leach peed all over his career in doing this. His market for hire is small because who wants to hire an employee who filed a lawsuit against his last employer? I wouldn't. And suing ESPN was not so bright either. He has to prove actual malice, which he can't, and besides, what school wants the kind of attention they would get from ESPN with that hire? He should try standup. If the audience is drunk enough he might seem funny.
"What makes you think it would cost a significant amount of his net worth? And what makes you think think that decision would affect whether he gets a coaching job again? You think a school would say "hey, you know, he gave up after the appeals court, so we're OK with him. But if he went any further, well that would be unacceptable" ? I take it you've never had to hire an attorney. How long has this gone on, and how much longer are they planning on dragging it out? His legal fees could easily top 7 figures depending on how long he pursues this. We all know he wasn't making Brown or Stoops money at Tech, and he got screwed out of a good chunk of change on the way out the door, so yeah I could see this making a decent dent in his net worth depending on how long he tries to drag this out. As per getting another job, I'm not suggesting his success or failure on the lawsuit will have any effect...I think it's obvious he's already ****** himself here.
There are youngsters who dont get it yet that filing a lawsuit is better than brandishing a firearm. It's just a dispute resolution process. And what are the other ways to resolve a dispute? There are midlife types that understand that **** like lawsuits happens in divorces (be they love or life or business interests that went bad). There are older types (soon to be!, if not already me) who just get tired of fighting. Don't bare your chops. Age and treachery beat out youth and enthusiasm ALMOST every time.
Leach was foolish to file his Motion against Tech and then the lawsuit. But he is a good, if limited, coach and can probably get a job with a school that is not getting a lot of press and is not scared of getting sued and/or knows to get an arbitration clause in his contract. A place like UTEP or New Mexico State or New Mexico would be a good fit. He would upgrade the school's profile. He just wouldn't make near the money he was making or could have made. Just a guess, but my hunch is that he lost it over the James mess because he was already frustrated at not finding a way out of Lubbock. There was a limit on how much money he was going to make there and the 2008 peak was probably as high as he could take that program. I like Lubbock and Tech but it is not everybody's cup of tea and there are limits on how effectively anybody could recruit there. He needed out if he was going to be able to make really good money and be at a school that was capable of recruiting a team that could win a national championship. That brass ring is out of reach now.
He probably hired his attorney on a fee contingent basis. After all, the free press advertising has significant value regardless of the outcome. And it just feels better when the other guy has to pay you. Anyway, I'll do that brief for $4500.00 cash. Times is hard. Leach will be ok. If he really wanted to get back in it, he could get a HC job at a mid-major school, or an OC job at an ok D1 school.
After a string of life-changing events, I have to say that $4,500 being thrown out there made an impression on me. Was it supposed to b incredibly cheap or expensive? I personally think it is both. For Both parties. In both ways.
It's an investment decision at this point. Appealing to the Texas Supreme Court,.. if they do not accept the writ is going to run about 10K.. if they do accept the writ and hear oral arguments.... about 20K. For a chance at millons. The Supremes aren't likely to overturn the appellate court especially in light of their decision in the aggy case (referenced in the opinion). But.. is it worth the risk?
Yeah, I thought Leach would "own Texas Tech" by now. a) He has no case. b) He was at fault. c) If he won, he would be lucky to get the amout remaining on his contract. He damn sure wouldn't get anything else. d) As pointed out, he keelhauled his career by suing his former employer. e) Soverign immunity, it's not a myth.
This does not pertain to the subject but... Horn69 --- Your Sig is very cool. Been meaning to tell you.
The Opinion from the 7th CoA made it abundantly clear early in the 22-page effort that it was NOT making ANY assessment as to who was in the right and who was in the wrong when it comes to the claims made about the firing. This was a ruling that dealt ONLY with the issue of whether the Defendants enjoyed sovereign immunity. And, in the manner of ruling, I would expect that an appeal to the Supreme Court of Texas will focus on the definitions related to good faith since it appears that the 7th CoA applied a different standard to Leach than would have applied to the common layman. So yes, I do fully expect that the appellate efforts will continue and NO I would not expect the continued efforts to have any impact one way or another on the future career pursuits of the Pirate.
Tech just shat the bed for any coach's contract made with the State of Texas. Specifically, it would appear that there is now a clear legal precedent under which Texas universities don't have to honor their contracts with coaches. That's, uh, problematical. Can anyone who actually knows things comment on this aspect?
Major institutions (yeah Tech qualifies) don't let guys go without covering their bases legally. Bunch of guys with some legal training and an idealistic minds (hear this president obama) are the only ones who thought Leach would get a dime. Was an obvious outcome from the beginning. Hook'em
