If your former employer was asking you to ante up $400,000.00, you would sue, too. This isn't anything personal against LSU. This is an issue between a former employee and employer involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, not chump change. I'm not defending him, per se, just pointing out that it's not something to hate the guy over. He made a move he felt was right for him, and is fighting to not pay back a lot of money. I would do the same.
Not if I knew I didn't have a leg to stand on. His contract was pretty clear. He jumped ship before his buyout was null. If I commit a crime and get busted for selling weed, I'm not going to sue the police department to try and get my money back.
It all depends on the specific wording of his contract. That is something we don't know that a judge will have to interpret and rule upon.
I wonder how long the contract was and if Chavis ever read it carefully and completely. Now that $400K is at stake, my guess is that a number of lawyers are being paid around $400/hr to read it very carefully and very, very slowly.
Really, not the point, and not apples to apples analogy there, my friend. My wife is an employment attorney, and I can tell you with certainty that most lawsuits filed by an employee happen irrespective of what the contract says. This is about 400K. Contractual technicalities are complicated. By suing, he is at least giving himself a chance to reduce that number, or have it eliminated completely. If he doesn't sue, then the next step is to pay 400,000.00 out of his own pocket, since A&M is not agreeing to cover it. What would you do? Just pay 400K w/o any fight? If he was a sought after HC, then A&M would not be objecting, probably, but since he is a replaceable assistant, they are. This is probably as much about forcing A&M, as it is about trying to reduce the payback to LSU.
I understand suing a former employer over disputed money. But suing your new employer to cover your legal expenses of leaving your last job. WTF does that?
