A federal judge has dismissed all remaining claims against McGinnis Lochridge client, a Texas A&M University athletics communications employee, bringing a close to litigation that had been pending since 2017.
The lawsuit arose from a dispute over content posted on the Texas A&M athletics website relating to the university's famous "12th Man" tradition. The plaintiffs, an author and his publisher, alleged that copyrighted material was used without authorization and pursued claims against Marquardt individually after the university's athletic department and foundation were dismissed from the case years earlier.
McGinnis Lochridge attorneys Ray Chester and Ian Davis argued that Marquardt, as a state employee acting within the scope of his employment, was shielded from suit on two independent grounds. First, binding U.S. Supreme Court precedent establishes that states retain sovereign immunity against copyright claims, and that protection extends to state employees and agents. Second, the Texas Tort Claims Act bars a plaintiff from pursuing claims against both a governmental unit and its individual employees — and the plaintiffs here had done exactly that.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed on both grounds and dismissed all claims against Marquardt in a February 14, 2026 order. The result is a complete victory for our client after nearly nine years of litigation. Congratulations to Ray and Ian for their persistence and skill in seeing this case through to a successful conclusion.
The case is Canada Hockey LLC v. Texas A&M University Athletic Department et al., No. 4:17-cv-00181 (S.D. Tex.).
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