December 21st, 2017

​
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions
Wilkerson v. University of North Texas

Docket: 16-41716
Opinion Date: December 20, 2017
Judge: Stephen Andrew Higginson
Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of summary judgment to the administrators of a university on their immunity defenses. Plaintiff filed suit alleging that he was deprived of his property interest in his job without due process and tortious interference with his employment contract. The court held that the district court erred in denying the administrators qualified immunity against the section 1983 claim because plaintiff did not have a clearly established property right. Furthermore, state law compelled a similar result on the tortious interference claim. Accordingly, the district court should have granted immunity to the administrators.

Read Opinion