A&M DC John Chavis' lawsuit against LSU moved to federal court

A&M DC John Chavis’ lawsuit against LSU moved to federal court, pending possible motion

A lawsuit involving Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Clavis against his previous employer LSU has been moved from a district court in Brazos County, Texas to a federal court in Houston, according to court documents obtained by The Advocate.

The suit will remain in the United States Court of the Southern District of Texas unless Chavis files a motion to keep it in Brazos County.

Chavis sued LSU saying he does not owe the school a $400,000 buyout because he says his contract with the school gave him the right to terminate his employment agreement without cause if he gave them 30 days notice.

Chavis was LSU’s defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2014 and accepted the same position with Texas A&M in December.

In the lawsuit, Chavis said on January 2 that LSU athletic director Joe Alleva demanded that Chavis pay the university the $400,000 buyout. He then turned in a 30-day notice to terminate the contract without cause on Jan. 5, making his last day of employment with the school Feb. 4.

Chavis also claims that the LSU owes him more than $205,000 in unpaid incentives and vacation time and insists the contract be deemed void because they unlawfully doctored his 2012 contract.

After Chavis filed his lawsuit on Feb. 27, LSU filed a suit of their own in 19th Judicial Court in East Baton Rouge Parish on the same day. LSU wants Chavis’ suit dismissed on grounds of jurisdiction.

Chavis has until April 15 to respond to a motion of discovery after LSU wanted to find out if Chavis was involved with Texas A&M before the school announced his hire on Feb. 13.

- Scooby Axson