A lawsuit filed by the person who accused Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker of sexual harassment may be heard in federal court.
Early this month, rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy was granted a temporary emergency restraining order against Mel Tucker and his attorneys. The complaint was made after Tucker’s legal team published some of Tracy’s texts to the public.
The release occurred shortly before an MSU Title IX hearing on her claims of sexual misconduct.
Tucker’s legal team said they obtained the texts from an outside source. The texts in question are between Ahlan Alvarado and Brenda Tracy. Alvarado worked as a case manager for Tracy. She was killed in a car accident last June.
Tracy’s lawsuit names Alvarado’s husband, Agustin, Tucker, and Tucker’s legal team as defendants. It claims the messages Tucker’s attorneys released to the public were obtained without permission from Ahlan Alvarado’s cell phone.
Tracy’s legal team claims the messages were of sensitive nature.
“We had to file this because we wanted to make sure that confidential information that may be in that phone is not released,” said attorney Karen Truszkowski.
On Tuesday morning, a scheduled hearing for the lawsuit in the Ingham County Circuit Court was cancelled.
“That is because the opposing parties removed the case from state court to federal court, which they are allowed to do that if they can show that the federal court has jurisdiction,” Truszkowski explained.
A decision from a federal judge on whether the case will remain in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan is expected Wednesday afternoon.
Tracy’s team has filed a motion to move the case back down to state court.
At the publishing of this story Tucker’s team had not return a request for comment.
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